Cornelis J. (Neels) Van der Schyf, D.Sc., DTE
Chair and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
College of Pharmacy 

Professor of Neurobiology, College of Medicine

 Cornelis J. (Neels) Van der Schyf, D.Sc., DTE

Northeastern Ohio Universities
College of Pharmacy
4209 St. Rt. 44, P.O. Box 95
Rootstown, Ohio 44272-0095
Phone: (330) 325-6467
Fax: (330) 325-5936
Email: cvanders@neoucom.edu

 

 

Dr. Van der Schyf is chair of and professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, NEOUCOP, and professor of neurobiology, NEOUCOM. Before joining NEOUCOP, Van der Schyf was associate professor and graduate program advisor for pharmaceutical sciences at TTUHSC School of Pharmacy, Amarillo, Texas. He earned his BPharm, MSc, DSc (PhD), and DTE degrees from Potchefstroom University in South Africa, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Connecticut, during which time he did research at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Lab at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.

Van der Schyf has published more than 90 peer-reviewed research articles, 180 abstracts and presentations, and holds 13 patents. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards for Molecules, The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal, and Open Medicinal Chemistry Letters. As visiting professor in Australia (University of Queensland, Brisbane), Belgium (FUNDP, Namur), USA (Virginia Tech), and currently as Extraordinary Professor at Northwest University (South Africa), he remains active internationally.

Besides serving or having served ad hoc and as a chartered member on several NIH Study Sections and many other national and international granting agencies, he is a member of the Phi Beta Delta Honor Society, and has received several teaching and research awards, including "Teacher of the Year" and "Most Cited Paper" awards, the APSSA Upjohn Achievement Award and South Africa’s highest honor in drug discovery research, the FARMOVS Prize for Pharmacology and Drug Development. 

Education:

1990 Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Education, Potchefstroom University
1986/7 Postdoc, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA (Prof. Alexandros Makriyannis)
1983 D.Sc. (eq. Ph.D.), in organic medicinal chemistry/drug design. Potchefstroom University, South Africa
1981 M.Sc. (Pharm.), in organic medicinal chemistry. Potchefstroom University, South Africa
1978 B.Pharm., Potchefstroom University, South Africa

 

Professional Experience:

2006-present Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Pharmacy, and
Professor of Neurobiology, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Rootstown, Ohio;
Graduate Faculty Member (Physiology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience), Kent State University, School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent, Ohio
2002-2006 Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Graduate Program Advisor (since 2003), Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas Tech University, Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy, Amarillo, Texas, and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas, USA (tenured 2006)
1997-2002 Research Associate Professor, Peters Center for the Study of Parkinson's Disease, Department of Chemistry and Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
1995-1997 Senior Research Scientist, Peters Center for the Study of Parkinson's Disease, Department of Chemistry and Adjunct Faculty Member, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
1990-1995 Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Head, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and Director: Drug Metabolism Research Unit, Potchefstroom University (currently North West University), Potchefstroom, South Africa
1985-1989 Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Potchefstroom University, Potchefstroom, South Africa (tenured 1986)
1986-1987 Postdoctoral Research Scientist (as visiting Assistant Professor), Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
1984-1984 Senior Lecturer (eq. US Assistant Professor), Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
1980-1984 Research Scientist (later Senior Research Scientist and Project Leader), Synthesis Group, Central Research Laboratory, Noristan Ltd., Pretoria, South Africa
1979-1980 Research Assistant, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Potchefstroom University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

 

Visiting/Honorary Professorships:

Since 1997: Extraordinary Professor, School of Pharmacy, North West University (formerly Potchefstroom University), Potchefstroom, South Africa (an honorary adjunct appointment, reappointed until 12/31/2008)

1995: Visiting Professor, Department of Medicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

1993-1993: Visiting Professor and Senior Research Scientist, Peters Center for the study of Parkinson's Disease, Department of Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

Research Interests:

Chemical syntheses, molecular modeling and pharmacology of novel drugs, currently focused on polycyclic multiple mechanistic neuroprotective drugs, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, smoking cessation and tobacco use prevention, thioacridone anticancer and antimalarial agents, and phlorophenone antimicrobial compounds.

Novel treatment strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.

Creative teaching and learning strategies in tertiary education.

Some recent publications:

Dr. Van der Schyf's publications listed in PubMed
(these are the more biologically, less chemically oriented papers).

Papers published or in press, 2006-2008:

Paulson, J.R., Roder, K.E., McAfee, G., Allen, D.D., Van der Schyf, C.J., Abbruscato, T.J. Tobacco smoke chemicals attenuate brain-to-blood potassium transport mediated by the Na,K,2Cl-cotransporter during hypoxia-reoxygenation. Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, 2006, 316, 248-254.

Grobler, E., Grobler, A., Van der Schyf, C.J.,, and Malan, S.F. Effect of Polycyclic Cage Amines on the Transmembrane Potential of Neuronal Cells. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 2006, 14, 1176-1181.

Geldenhuys, W.J., Gaasch, K.E., Watson, M., Allen, D.D., and Van der Schyf, C.J., Optimizing the use of open-source software applications in drug discovery. Drug Discovery Today, 2006, 11,127-132. Number 12 on Science Direct's "Top 25 Hottest Articles".

Kiewert, C., Hartmann, J., Stoll, J., Thekkumkara, T., Van der Schyf, C.J.,* and Klein, J., NGP1-01 is a brain permeable dual blocker of neuronal voltage- and ligand-operated calcium channels. Neurochemical Research, 2006, 31, 395-399.

Lockman, P.R., Gaasch, J., McAfee, G., Abbruscato, T.J., Van der Schyf, C.J., and Allen, D.D. Nicotine exposure does not alter plasma to brain choline transfer. Neurochemical Research, 2006, 31, 503-508.

Frederick, R., Dumont, W., Ooms, F., Aschenbach, L., Van der Schyf, C.J., Castagnoli, N., Jr., Wouters, J., and Krief, A. Synthesis, structural reassignment and biological activity of type B MAO inhibitors based on the 5H-indeno-[1,2-c]pyridazin-5-one core. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2006, 49, 3743 - 3747.

Van der Schyf, C.J., Geldenhuys, W.J., and Youdim, M.B.H. Multifunctional neuroprotective drugs for the treatment of cognitive and movement impairment disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Drugs of the Future, 2006, 31, 447-460.

Van der Schyf, C.J., Gal, S., Geldenhuys, W.J., and Youdim, M.B.H. Multifunctional neuroprotective drugs targeting monoamine oxidase inhibition, iron chelation, adenosine receptors, cholinergic, and glutamatergic action for neurodegenerative diseases. Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs, 2006, 15, 873-886.

Van der Schyf, C.J., Geldenhuys, W.J., and Youdim, M.B.H. Multifunctional Drugs with Different CNS Targets for Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Journal of Neurochemistry, 2006, 99, 1033-1048.

Kumar, V., Mdzinarishvili, A., Kiewert, C., Abbruscato, T., Bickel, U., Van der Schyf, C.J., and Klein, J. NMDA receptor-antagonistic properties of hyperforin, a constituent of St. John's wort. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, 2006, 102, 47-54.

Geldenhuys, W.J., and Van der Schyf, C.J., Triquinane-based compounds as possible serotonin 5-HT6 receptor antagonists for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. Medical Hypotheses, 2007, 68, 81-86.

Geldenhuys, W.J., Hayes, M., Malan, S.F., Van der Schyf, C.J., and Allen, D.D. Receptor surface models in the classroom. Introducing molecular modeling to students in a 3D world. Journal of Chemical Education, 2007, 84, 979-982.

Geldenhuys, W.J., Malan, S.F., Bloomquist, J.R., and Van der Schyf, C.J. Structure-activity Relationships of Pentacycloundecylamines at the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 2007, 15, 1525ֱ532.

Gaasch, J.A., Lockman, P.R., Geldenhuys, W.J., Allen, D.D., and Van der Schyf, C.J. Brain Iron Toxicity: Differential responses of astrocytes, neurons, and endothelial cells. Neurochemical Research, 2007, 32, 1196-1208.

Youdim, M.B.H., and Van der Schyf, C.J., Magic bullets or novel multimodal drugs with various targets for Parkinson's Disease? Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2007, 6, iii-vi.

Van der Schyf, C.J., Geldenhuys, W.J., and Youdim, M.B.H. Multifunctional neuroprotective-neurorescue drugs for Parkinson's Disease. Future Neurology, 2007, 2, 411-423.

Gaasch, J.A., Geldenhuys, W.J., Lockman, P.R., Allen, D.D., and Van der Schyf, C.J. Voltage-gated calcium channels provide an alternate route for iron uptake in neuronal cell cultures. Neurochemical Research, 2007, 32, 1686-1693.

Van der Schyf, C.J., Mandel, S., Geldenhuys, W.J., Amit, T., Avramovich, Y., Zheng, H., Fridkin, M., Gal, S., Weinreb, O., Bar-Am, O., Sagi, Y., and Youdim, M.B.H. Novel multifunctional anti-Alzheimer drugs with various CNS neurotransmitter targets and neuroprotective moieties. Current Alzheimer Research, 2007, 4, 522-536.

Hau, J., Mdzinarishvili, A., Abbruscato, T.J., Klein, J., Geldenhuys, W.J., Van der Schyf, C.J., and Bickel U. Neuroprotection in mice by NGP1-01 after transient focal brain ischemia. Brain Research, 2008, 1196, 113-120.

Geldenhuys, W.J., and Van der Schyf, C.J. Serotonin 5-HT6 receptor antagonists for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, 2008, in press.

Book Chapters:

Van der Schyf, C.J., Geldenhuys, W.J., and Youdim, M.B.H. Multifunctional Neuroprotective Drugs for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. in: Pharmacological Advances and Mechanisms in Alzheimer's Therapeutics. A. Claudio Cuello, M.D., D.Sc., FRSC, ed. 2008, Springer Publishing, New York, NY, pp. 274-295.

Van der Schyf, C.J., Geldenhuys, W.J., and Youdim, M.B.H. Multifunctional drugs: Ladostigil, an anti-Alzheimer drug. in: Medicinal Chemistry of Alzheimer's Disease. Ana Martinez, Ph.D., ed. 2008, Transworld Research Network, Kerala, India, pp. 1-20.