Craig A. Townsend

Craig A. Townsend serves as the Alsoph H. Corwin Professor of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University with joint appointments in Biology and Biophysics and affiliations in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

His research centers on natural products chemistry and the organic chemistry-biology-medicine interface, emphasizing stereochemical studies of biosynthetic enzymes, chemoenzymatic synthesis, polyketide/beta-lactam antibiotic enzymology, and drug design against antibiotic-resistant pathogens, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Key accolades include:

• Research Fellow of the A. P. Sloan Foundation
• Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar
• Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award
• A. I. Scott Medal from the American Chemical Society
• Stuart Pharmaceuticals Award in Chemistry

He advises graduate students and postdoctoral researchers while maintaining active NIH grant involvement through prior Study Section service and pharmaceutical consulting. His laboratory focuses on biosynthetic enzyme engineering and antimicrobial drug development.