The greatest career mentor in chemistry: the ocean.

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Marine natural products chemistry is the field of studying compounds from marine organisms. The biosynthetic potential of our natural world to make unique chemistry scaffolds and exotic compounds exceeds what most chemists consider in medicinal chemistry or drug discovery. These unique compounds often exhibit biological properties that have the potential to stop or heal disease or infection. In fact, approxiately 60% of approved small molecule drugs on market have been inspired by or derived from natural products. I look forward to discussing my training experiences in marine natural products, from undergrad research to graduate diving expeditions including getting the bends in Papua New Guinea. Currently, I continue to be inspired by natural products while working in Discovery Chemistry at Genentech, Inc. Lastly but most importantly, I will also highlight other brilliant mentors in my life who have helped me pivot and see possibilities that I wouldn't have considered without them along the way.