Kyle Hadden has been working at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences since 2009 where he started as an Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry.

He said that his decision to go into academia was made during his postdoctoral research at the University of Kansas.

“When I was postdoc, I actually wanted to go into industry and me and my research mentor Brian Blagg had a talk about specific jobs that were available and where I could apply and think about,” Hadden said. “I applied to a few places and wasn’t getting traction with those positions so Blagg sat me down and said that he thought I would do well in academics.”

Hadden said that Blagg gave him a revelation.

“Blagg said that if I did industry, I would be researching what other people wanted me to research, but if I did academia, I could research what I wanted to research,” Hadden said. “He told me that he didn’t see me as someone that would be happy long-term doing what someone else wanted me to do.”

So Hadden decided to look into academia and stumbled upon the University of Connecticut.

“It was the right place at the right time,” Hadden said. “When I was looking for a position, it was one of the few that had open positions in the field I was primarily in.

Hadden continued.

“One of the places was less of a university and more of a research institute and I enjoyed working with students so I went with UConn,” Hadden said.

Hadden started out coordinating PHRX 3002, Foundations in Bioorganic Chemistry. He then coordinated other classes such as PHAR 5393, Seminar in Medicinal Chemistry (2010-2022), PHRX 3012, Pharmacy Research Seminar (2011-2013) and PHRX 2009, Principles of Drug Action (2016-2017).

Hadden’s favorite part about teaching is seeing a student understand the topic they struggled with.

“I really enjoy talking to the students that might have struggled a bit and then come and see me in the office and we talk through the topics again and you can see in their face that they understand it,” Hadden said. “So that always gives me joy when I can see that they’ve understood a little bit more and it’s starting to connect.”

In 2016, Hadden got promoted to an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and in 2021 he was promoted again to a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and added a new role, the Director of Research and Graduate Programs as well.

Hadden reflected on his previous promotions, saying:

“I’ve been blessed that it’s been pretty smooth process with minimal bumps along the way,” Hadden said. “I got into research at UConn at a good time and when there was still a lot of funding available for different projects.”

Research has been Hadden’s biggest role in his career as he has published 64 peer-reviewed research articles since 2003, as well as 18 peer-reviewed review articles published since 2006.

Over the course of his career so far at UConn, Hadden has mentored 40 different students through his research lab.

Hadden’s favorite thing about research is when a student comes into his lab and they complete an experiment that they designed and then they come to tell him about their findings.

“I can tell from their face that they’re incredibly excited about having been able to think that process of what do I need to know,” Hadden said. “That’s my favorite part of it is watching them feel success for themselves when they’ve made that connection in the lab.”

Hadden’s proudest project was his work on the molecule itraconazole. Itraconazole is a clinically used, FDA approved antifungal medication that has a specific nitrogen atom that makes it potentially toxic to humans and can result in drug-drug interactions. Hadden’s research was trying to turn that molecule into an anti-cancer medication by removing the nitrogen atom.

Over the course of his research, he was successful and found a way to eliminate some of the bad side effects along the way.

Hadden has still had his fair share of setbacks. The biggest being when he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

“You think you’re a young healthy person that eats well and exercises to then have something like that thrown at you, it takes a bit of time to digest and get through,” Hadden said.

He ended up getting the tumor removed through surgery and celebrated his five-year date of being cancer free earlier this month.

Some of the ongoing initiatives Hadden is excited to take over is trying to figure out ways to educate more undergraduate students at UConn.

“There is a variety of different ways we have talked about in the department and there’s a variety of different strategies that we need to sort out to decide what the best way is,” Hadden said.

Hadden also said that another thing he is excited about working on is figuring out ways to develop more classes and have more of the faculty’s expertise be available to undergraduate students.

Hadden will be promoted to department head in August 2026 and his message to incoming and current pharmacy students is to never forget that the faculty are here to help you succeed.

“Too often the students think they’re going to bother the faculty or that they’re going to be a nuisance if they come to office hours,” Hadden said. “I would tell them they’re not, we are faulty members because we love working with and teaching students.”

Hadden added to that.

“Don’t ever feel like you are going to be bothering a faculty member if you have a question,” Hadden said. “We are here to help you succeed and that’s one of the things we love about the job.”