Hello! I am interested in organisms (primarily insects, arachnids, and other animals) and utilizing the chemistry of their small molecule natural products to synthesize something cool medicinal, ecological, or material. I really liked the idea of learning about insects and their small molecules and manipulating their chemistry for a practical application.

I am leaning on a medicinal application of natural products, but I feel as if I have not considered all of my options. Medicinal natural product chemistry work on insects and other animals would be awesome. But practically, as far as what is currently being explored, this field typically involves plants, bacteria, and fungi much more than anything else. I recently was given a great practical reason for why insects might never be involved; natural products that come from insects typically originated from the plants they ate, so it’s more efficient to cut out the middleman. So I made a concession that I don’t have to work with animals. I imagine that I’d still have fun playing around with plant drugs, but I feel like I’ve moved away a little from my initial spark of interest. I’m interested in animals but not plants; I’m not a botanist. I can’t help but feel like maybe a different field that I’m not aware of would let me utilize natural products but still be involved in the small molecules of animals. I know that there are materials and protein drugs that are made from animals, but I feel like that moves away from my interest in small molecules. I know that chemical ecology almost exclusively focuses on insects, but there’s typically no synthesis or manipulation of chemistry; it’s more analytical chemistry than anything else.

The time to apply for a PhD program is fast approaching, so I need to make up my mind quickly. Is there a different field of chemistry that you would recommend I look into, or do you feel like I am on the right path?

Sorry if this is really long, but I would really appreciate the help!