DONALD SIKAZWE
Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dr. Sikazwe earned a BSc. degree from Edward Waters College, Jacksonville FL in 1990, and a MS. degree from the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL in 1996. In 2004, he earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Florida A &M University, Tallahassee, FL. His dissertation was in the CNS area and focused on the design, synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of dopamine-2/dopamine-4 receptor antagonists as potential antipsychotics.
In 2002, Dr. Sikazwe interned at Schering-Plough, in the Allergy and Immunology Division, Kenilworth, NJ. His research at Schering-Plough involved synthesis of novel chemical templates for generating anti-inflammatory drug libraries. After completing his Ph.D. studies, he joined the Medicinal Chemistry Department at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA, as a Kirschstein-NRSA Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2004 - 2006). His research involved rational design, synthesis and structural activity relationship (SAR) development of serotonin-6 receptor ligands for CNS disorders.
After his postdoctoral work, Dr. Sikazwe joined the Roskamp Institute (2006) and then Archer Pharm,aceuticals Inc. (2008) in Sarasota, FL, where he worked on a team of diverse scientists to design and synthesize novel small and complex heterocyclic compounds for Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Sikazwe has authored several scientific articles and is a patent holder. His scholarly interests include the discovery of novel agents for treating various CNS pathological conditions through the modification of side effect profiles of existing clinically useful agents.
