Ethan Van Arnam

Ethan Van Arnam is an Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Natural Sciences at Claremont Colleges, jointly serving Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges. His research focuses on the intersection of natural products chemistry and ecological systems, with particular emphasis on antibiotic discovery from environmental sources.

His research interests span antibiotic discovery, natural products chemistry, and chemical ecology, with specific attention to microbial symbiosis and bacterial isolation techniques. The Van Arnam Lab employs ecologically-inspired approaches to identify novel antibiotics, investigating how microorganisms interact in natural environments to develop new therapeutic compounds.

Recent publications demonstrate strong trends in microbial ecology-driven antibiotic development and natural product biosynthesis, with significant focus on thiopeptide chemistry and bacterial defense mechanisms. The work bridges chemical analysis with ecological field studies, including collecting trips to Arizona and New Mexico.

• NIH R15 Grant (R15GM147873) for ecologically-inspired antibiotic discovery (2024)
• American Society of Pharmacognosy Research Starter Grant (2018)

Van Arnam advises numerous undergraduate researchers across the Claremont Consortium, with students presenting at national conferences including the American Chemical Society meetings. His lab has secured significant grant funding including the recent NIH R15 award. The research group maintains active collaborations with institutions across the country and conducts fieldwork for sample collection in ecologically diverse regions.

The Van Arnam Lab operates within the W.M. Keck Science Center, conducting both laboratory-based chemical analysis and field-based microbial collection. The team includes undergraduate researchers, a full-time Research Technician (Hailey Kang), and maintains active collaborations with other institutions for compound screening and ecological studies.