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☆☆☆☆☆

Hire Dr. Dorothy S.

South Africa

USD 50 /hr

Medicinal Chemist | Small Molecule Drug Discovery | Scientific & Medical Writer | AMR, TB, CNS, Oncology

Profile Summary

PhD Medicinal Chemist with 5+ years of experience in small molecule drug discovery and translational research across the UK and South Africa. Expertise spans infectious diseases (TB, Antimicrobial Resistance), CNS, and oncology, with a strong track record in compound design, synthesis, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Author of 10 peer-reviewed publications (including review articles and book chapters), and experienced in grant writing, research proposals, and scientific editing. I assist clients in producing clear, high-quality scientific content and practical drug discovery insights, ensuring timely delivery that meets publication standards. Available for confidential projects under NDA. Services: • Scientific & Medical Writing (research articles, reviews, grants) • Literature Reviews & Secondary Research • Pre-submission Peer Review & Proofreading • Chemistry Education Materials • Public Health Content

Subject Matter Expertise

• ★ Medicinal Chemistry
• ★ Antibiotic Resistance Research
• ★ Medical Writing
• ☆ Organic Chemistry
• ☆ Small Molecule Drug Development
• ☆ Pulmonology/Respiratory Disease
• ☆ Tuberculosis
• ☆ Regulatory Writing
• ☆ CMC Documentation
• ☆ Medical Content Writing
• ☆ Continuing Medical Education (CME) Materials
• ☆ Healthcare Communications
• ☆ Patient Education Materials
• ☆ Research Summaries & Abstracts
• ☆ Instructional Materials
• ☆ Experimental Protocols
• ☆ SOP & Protocol Writing
• ☆ White Papers
• ☆ Science Communication

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Consulting

Writing Clinical Trial Documentation, Medical Writing, Creative Writing, General Proofreading & Editing

Research Scientific and Technical Research, Systematic Literature Review

Consulting Scientific and Technical Consulting

Work Experience

Investigator (Medicinal Chemistry)

Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre

2023 - 2023

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

King's College London

2018 - 2022

Education

PhD (Synthetic Organic & Medicinal Chemistry)

University of Cape Town

2012 - 2016

Certifications

• Foundations of GMP

  United States Pharmacopeia (USP)

  February 2026 - Present

• Google AI Essentials

  coursera

  September 2025 - Present

• Drug Development Product Management

  coursera

  September 2025 - Present

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Dorothy Semenya, Rosalind J. Van Wyk, June C. Serem, Carel B. Oosthuizen, Miruna Serian, Christian D. Lorenz, A. James Mason, Megan J. Bester, Anabella R. M. Gaspar (2025). Carboxy-Amidated AamAP1-Lys has Superior Conformational Flexibility and Accelerated Killing of Gram-Negative Bacteria . Biochemistry.

Dorothy Semenya, Seong-Heun Kim, Charlotte K. Hind, Guilherme F. S. Fernandes, Jingyue Wu, Melanie Clifford, Caleb Marsh, Silvia Anselmi, A. James Mason, Kenneth D. Bruce, et al. (2024). Development of Novel Membrane Disrupting Lipoguanidine Compounds Sensitizing Gram-Negative Bacteria to Antibiotics . ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Dorothy Semenya, Simona Di Blasio, Maria Clarke, Charlotte K. Hind, Masanori Asai, Louis Laurence, Angelica Benvenuti, Mahnoor Hassan, DeDe Kwun-Wai Man, Victoria Horrocks, et al. (2023). Bolaamphiphile Analogues of 12-bis-THA Cl ₂ Are Potent Antimicrobial Therapeutics with Distinct Mechanisms of Action against Bacterial, Mycobacterial, and Fungal Pathogens . mSphere.

Dorothy Semenya, Meir Touitou, Domiziana Masci, Camila Maringolo Ribeiro, Fernando Rogerio Pavan, Guilherme Felipe Dos Santos Fernandes, Beatrice Gianibbi, Fabrizio Manetti, Daniele Castagnolo (2022). Tapping into the antitubercular potential of 2,5-dimethylpyrroles: A structure-activity relationship interrogation . European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Dorothy Semenya, Meir Touitou, Camila Maringolo Ribeiro, Fernando Rogerio Pavan, Luca Pisano, Vinayak Singh, Kelly Chibale, Georg Bano, Anita Toscani, Fabrizio Manetti, et al. (2022). Structural Rigidification of N-Aryl-pyrroles into Indoles Active against Intracellular and Drug-Resistant Mycobacteria . ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Dorothy Semenya, Seong-Heun Kim, Daniele Castagnolo (2021). Antimicrobial drugs bearing guanidine moieties: A review . European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Dorothy Semenya, Meir Touitou, Fabrizio Manetti, Camila Maringolo Ribeiro, Fernando Rogerio Pavan, Nicol&#242; Scalacci, Katarina Zrebna, Neelu Begum, Antima Gupta, Sanjib Bhakta, et al. (2020). Improving the Potency of <i>N</i>-Aryl-2,5-dimethylpyrroles against Multidrug-Resistant and Intracellular Mycobacteria . ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

S. I. Omoruyi, O. E. Ekpo, D. M. Semenya, A. Jardine, S. Prince (2020). Exploitation of a novel phenothiazine derivative for its anti-cancer activities in malignant glioblastoma . Apoptosis.

Dorothy Semenya, Sumayah Salie, Nai-Jen Hsu, Anwar Jardine, Muazzam Jacobs (2014). Novel non-neuroleptic phenothiazines inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis replication . Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

BOOK CHAPTER

Dorothy Semenya, Venkatesan Jayaprakash, Daniele Castagnolo, Yusuf Ozkay (2019). Recent Advances in Repositioning Non-Antibiotics against Tuberculosis and Other Neglected Tropical Diseases . Medicinal Chemistry of Neglected and Tropical Diseases: Advances in the Design and Synthesis of Antimicrobial Agents.