Isabelle Morize, Ph.D.

Head, U.S. Molecular Modeling and Structural Biology, Sanofi-Aventis

"Seeing friends and family affected by diseases, I feel very fortunate to be working in a pharmaceutical company and spending my time discovering and optimizing small molecule compounds that may become new drugs. For a new drug, it is a long road to the market, but knowing the impact a drug may have on changing peoples' lives, it is well worth the energy and passion that we (scientists) devote toward reaching this goal.

"Molecular Modeling and Structural Biology by x-ray crystallography have changed quite dramatically the way chemists and biologists look at their data and structures and establish their rationale to progress compounds. I have been in the field of computer-aided drug design for the last 20 years and very much enjoy contributing to the development of this field and working hand-in-hand with project teams."

As head of the Molecular Modeling and Structural Biology Group within the Department of Chemistry at Sanofi-Aventis, Dr. Morize directs computer-assisted design of bio-active molecules, structure-based design and library design of chemical entities to support pharmaceutical compounds discovery and optimization. She has developed her group to integrate modeling activities and make full use of 3D protein-ligand x-ray structures and in silico modeling methods within internal projects and through external alliances. Committed to building strong relationships within the company and with key academic groups, Dr. Morize is actively involved in the local modeling community of NJ and PA.