Chemistry
We are delighted to announce that Prof. Qiu Wang was awarded a 2016 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. This award recognizes demonstrated leadership in research and education and follows on the heels of her recent NSF CAREER Award and Sloan Research Award. Congratulations, Qiu! read more about Prof. Qiu Wang Receives Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award »
Congratulations to Mr. Xiao Zhang, a Katherine Goodman Stern Fellow for the 2016-2017 academic year. This Graduate School competitive award will provide the funding necessary for Xiao to continue his study on the yield of high quality few walled carbon nanotubes under the guidance of Professor Jie Liu. The Stern fellowship follows on the heels of the Graduate School’s Peter Walter Jeffs Summer Research Fellowship, for which Xiao received for summer 2016. read more about Xiao Zhang Receives Graduate School Fellowships »
A recent article by Prof. Alvin Crumbliss in Nautilus focuses on the metallome, a collection of metal atoms that helped shape modern biology and impacted evolution. For more on how the metallome changed cellular chemistry, please see the article available here. read more about Crumbliss Rocks with Heavy Metal(s) »
Thanks to the support of the Chemistry Major's Union, WiSE, the Duke Women's Center and the Department, the second Women in Chemistry Luncheon was held on Thursday, April 28. The event, an integrative, networking lunch for undergraduate and graduate women in Chemistry, included our female faculty and lab managers as well. read more about Women in Chemistry Luncheon »
The Department’s undergraduate teaching program and Duke’s Occupational and Environmental Safety Office (OESO) have been selected to receive the 2016 American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Health and Safety (CHAS) SafetyStratus Collegiate Safety Award. The Award is presented to recognize a comprehensive laboratory and chemical safety program at an institution of higher learning (undergraduate aspects only). The 2016 CHAS SafetyStratus Award will be presented at the Fall meeting of the American Chemical… read more about Chemistry wins Safety Award from American Chemical Society (ACS) »
Congratulations to Christiana Gooden, who received a Meritorious Service Award from President Brodhead at the Duke Presidential Award Luncheon on April 14. These awards are presented each year "to recognize outstanding employees who have distinguished themselves through diligent work and dedicated service.” Many thanks to Chrissy for all that she does for Chemistry faculty, students, and staff alike! read more about Chrissy Wins Presidential Award »
Professor Patrick Charbonneau and an international team of physicists have been awarded four years of support from the Simons Foundation to seek a clearer understanding of the physics of glass. The team, led by Prof. Sid Nagel of the University of Chicago, seeks a unified theory of the structure and formation of glasses -- materials that have the mechanical properties of solids, but are disordered at the molecular level like liquids. The convergence of recent breakthroughs in these areas offers a… read more about Charbonneau and International Team of Physicists Seek Understanding of the Physics of Glass »
Yuan Zhuang from the Charbonneau group has recently made a breakthrough in the description of periodic microphases. This advance enables the determination of phase diagrams for models that can form cluster crystals, double gyroid, lamellae, and other complex mesoscale assemblies. The results appear in Physical Review Letters. read more about Charbonneau Lab Makes Breakthrough in Periodic Microphases »
Congratulations to Abigail Jackson and Lucy Li, recipients of national graduate fellowship awards. Ms. Jackson has been awarded a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship by the National Science Foundation which will fund her Ph.D. work with Prof. Kathy Franz. Ms. Lucy Li has received a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship by the DoD, funding her Ph.D. work with Prof. Jie Liu. These national awards will give Abbey and Lucy greater freedom … read more about Two Students Win National Graduate Fellowship Awards »
In a collaborative and highly interdisciplinary effort, the Wang, Warren, Malcolmson, Blum, and Theis labs have disclosed a new class of molecules that may be used as biomolecular tags for MRI, potentially enabling metabolic processes to be viewed in real time. The work, published in the journal Science Advances and highlighted in Duke Today, details the hyperpolarization of these molecules through an iridium-catalyzed spin-polarization transfer from singlet-state hydrogen gas, increasing NMR signals, which… read more about Interdisciplinary Efforts Lead to Imaging Tag for MRI »
Charbonneau and collaborators have recently made the stunning prediction that, upon cooling, simple glass-forming liquids can form two different types of amorphous solids. This work and the broader scientific context for this fundamental advance is featured this month in the French popular science magazine, La Recherche. A link to the article, though in French, may be found here: http://www.larecherche.fr/mensuel/510 read more about Charbonneau's Glass-Forming Liquids Featured in La Recherche »
The Hargrove lab discusses progress towards the molecular characterization of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a relatively new class of biomacromolecules implicated in a wide range of biological processes and human diseases. Despite the widely-recognized importance of lncRNAs, biochemical and biophysical studies are still in early stages. This Current Topics article in Biochemistry describes and analyzes the techniques currently in use to study the structure, interactions, and functions of lncRNAs as… read more about Connecting long noncoding RNA structures and biochemical functions to disease »
Congratulations to Qiu Wang, who has been awarded a 2016 Sloan Research Fellowship! The Sloan Research Fellowships seek to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. These two-year fellowships are awarded yearly to 126 researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field. For more information on the award, please visit the Sloan webpage. read more about Qiu Wang Receives Sloan Research Award! »
Chemistry major Catherine Newman has been awarded one of 35 US Gates Cambridge Scholarships. These scholarships are granted to the most gifted and socially committed candidates from a pool of thousands of applicants. The program was established at the University of Cambridge with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Congratulations, Cat! read more about Cat Newman Receives Gates Cambridge Scholarship »
Dr. Rene Raphemont received a Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F32) from the National Institutes of Health. The award provides post-doctoral funding for Rene’s research into host-parasite interactions that occur during malaria's liver stage. Congratulations, Rene! read more about Raphemot to receive NIH Postdoctoral Award »
Congratulations to Jennifer West, whose election to the National Academy of Engineering was announced this week! read more about Secondary Professor, Jennifer West, elected to NAE »
Congratulations to Professor Kathy Franz, a recipient of Duke University's 2016 Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring, in recognition of her exemplary work mentoring undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students over the years. Nominations are made by students, and it was a cohort of her students spanning her entire Duke career that put the nomination together. The award is certainly well deserved, and it's a great reminder of the impact that engaged mentorship can have. The official… read more about Katherine Franz wins Mentoring Award »
The Derbyshire Lab reports the discovery of inhibitors that target multiple stages of malaria parasite growth. To identify these inhibitors Derbyshire took advantage of the TCAMS small molecule library, which is comprised of diverse and potent chemical scaffolds with activities against malaria's blood stage and investigated their effects against malaria's elusive liver stage using a forward chemical screen. More on their recent developments may be found here in Antimibrobial Agents and Chemotherapy… read more about Derbyshire Lab Targets Malaria »
The Department of Chemistry is pleased to support the Bouchet Society's 3rd Annual Ida Stephens Owens Black Tie Dinner. The event will feature Keynote speaker Dean Valerie Ashby. If interested in attending, please contact Prof. Katherine Franz or Mike Conti to secure one of the Department's limited free tickets. Date: February 13, 2016 Time: Cocktails 5:30PM, Dinner 7:00PM Location: Duke University Searle Center Tickets: $15… read more about Duke Bouchet Society's 3rd Annual Ida Stephens Owens Black Tie Dinner »
Prof. Beratan will teach a Duke Signature Course this spring entitled “How does biology work?” The course is aimed at sophomores, juniors and seniors in Trinity and Pratt with an interest in how the quantitative tools of chemistry, physics and math can be used to describe the function of biology’s molecular machinery. As brief video introduction to the course appears here: https://youtu.be/SVuQSbjLiik read more about Beratan to teach Signature Course »
Congratulations to our Duke colleague, Prof. Paul Modrich, who was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering work to elucidate the molecular basis of a DNA repair mechanism, now known as mismatch repair. read more about Prof. Paul Modrich Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry »
The Duke Chemistry Department is pleased to announce a newly awarded grant from the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Program from the U.S. Department of Education. The award supports the Department’s ongoing efforts to recruit and prepare talented, diverse, and motivated graduate students for professions to meet tomorrow's teaching and research needs in the chemical sciences. The program provides fellowships to continuing doctoral-level students to engage in innovative, mentored… read more about New Graduate Fellowship Program Awarded by the U.S. Department of Education »
Researchers in the Franz lab have built a peptide that binds one kind of metal ion with greater ease if it binds a different type of metal ion first. This unique example of cooperative, heterometallic allostery in a biologically compatible construct suggests the possibility of designing conditionally active metal-binding agents that could respond to dynamic changes in cellular metal status. Read more here: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/SC/C5SC00602C#!divAbstract read more about Bind One Get One Free »
A new review from the McCafferty lab focuses on KDM1 class lysine demethylases. These enzymes are integrally involved in many biological processes and diseases and are therefore promising therapeutic targets. The comprehensive review describes the unique structure and substrate specificity of these enzymes, as well as current efforts toward inhibitor development. It further explores the regulation of KDM1 function through the formation of multiprotein complexes. Read more here, in the special issue of Biopolymers… read more about Reviewing the Complex Worlds of Lysine Demethylation »
Researchers in the McCafferty Lab have recently designed a mutant enzyme that shows promise as a molecular probe. This engineered enzyme is a mutant of lysine–specific demethylase 1A (KDM1A/LSD1), an epigenetic target with therapeutic potential. The researchers removed a protein interaction domain from KDM1A and replaced it with the corresponding region of a closely related enzyme. This molecular tool will allow users to effectively study the protein–protein interactions of KDM1A. Read more here. read more about Uncoupling Protein–Protein Interactions from Enzyme Catalysis »
Professor Hargrove has been recognized by the Prostate Cancer Foundation as a future research leader in the field of prostate cancer. The award provides resources for Professor Hargrove to pursue novel therapeutic strategies involving RNA-targeted small molecules to help combat prostate cancer. read more about Hargrove wins Young Investigator Award from Prostate Cancer Foundation »
Professor Ben Wiley has been selected to receive the 2015 Beilby Medal and Prize by the Awards Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC) Materials Division, the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3). The award recognizes Ben's pioneering contributions to the field of metal nanowires, including the demonstration of the use of copper nanowires as a low-cost transparent electrode for solar cells. read more about Wiley selected for 2015 Beilby Medal and Prize »
The Department of Chemistry is pleased to congratulate the recipients of the 2015-2016 Fellowship Awards: Joe Taylor Adams Dawn Kellogg (Al-Hashimi Group) James F. Bonk Greg Gossweiler (Craig Group) Charles Bradsher-Paul M. Gross Ruobing Wang (Therien Group) Burroughs Wellcome Brett Hemric (Wang Group) Brittany Morgan (Hargrove Group) Hyeri Park (Hong Group) Paul M. Gross Jinghua Li (Liu Group) C.R. Hauser… read more about Congratulations to the Departmental Fellowship Recipients for 2015-2016! »
We offer an enthusiastic welcome to our newest Chemistry colleague and incoming Dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Professor Valerie Ashby. Professor Ashby is a brilliant scholar, teacher, and leader who works in the area of polymer chemistry. Professor Ashby will move to Duke on July 1, 2015. read more about Welcome to newest Chemistry colleague and incoming Dean of Trinity College »
Congratulation to back-to-back Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award winners Amanda Hargrove (2014) and Emily Derbyshire (2015)! Prof. Hargrove won for her development of small molecule libraries that can screen for lncRNA structure and function and Prof. Derbyshire won for developing chemical tools for probing parasite biology, characterizing essential parasite proteins and the processes they target, and engineering next-generation antimalarial drugs. These awards are granted… read more about Derbyshire and Hargrove Win Back-to-Back Award »