News

Professor Amanda Hargrove has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Professor Hargrove’s research objective is to draw upon exquisitely tunable small molecules to develop timesaving and simple technologies that elucidate critical principles in RNA recognition and related function. Congratulations to Amanda and her research group on receipt of this distinguished award!   read more about Amanda Hargrove Receives NSF CAREER Award! »

The Malcolmson lab has demonstrated that olefins may act as alkylating agents for the enantioselective intermolecular addition of enol-type nucleophiles under Pd catalysis. Typically, polarized electrophiles are required for couplings with enolates/enols or their equivalents, reducing atom economy and potentially functional group tolerance. In this work, Prof. Malcolmson, graduate student Nathan Adamson, and undergraduate Katie Wilbur show that activated pronucleophiles undergo enantioselective addition to a variety of… read more about Malcolmson Lab Illustrates Olefins as Alkylating Agents for Enantioselective Synthesis »

The high temperatures and intense UV irradiation of the early earth made DNA particularly susceptible to damage. Beratan’s group used theory, modeling, and simulation to explore the mechanism of photochemical repair of damaged DNA by the enzyme photolyases. The group focused on the critical (and much debated) photo-induced electron-transfer reaction that leads to DNA repair. The group resolved a long-standing debate on the role of adenine in the repair, and found that thermophilic and hyperthermophilic DNA photolyases… read more about Beratan Group Sheds Light on DNA Repair »

The de novo design of a protein capable of binding a cofactor in a unique orientation is a challenging problem because a range of structurally similar, yet different, complexes are often formed. Now, a team led by former graduate student Nick Polizzi and by Professors David N. Beratan and Michael J. Therien at Duke, and by Professor William F. DeGrado at UCSF, report a protein — designed entirely from first principles — that binds a small-molecule cofactor in a unique and precisely predetermined… read more about Beratan, Therien and Collaborators Pack a Porphyrin into a Protein Puzzle »

Prof. Emily Derbyshire was named one of 44 prominent scientists moving Biochemistry into the future!  Secondary faculty member Ken Yokoyama and Department alumna Louise Charkoudian (Haverford College) also made the Biochemistry article’s top 44, highlighting Duke’s synergy among chemistry, biochemistry, and biology, as well as our commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientific leaders.  Congratulations to Emily, Ken and Lou on their recognition and contributions!  Read more on their… read more about The Future of Biochemistry is at Duke! »

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Michael Rubinstein joined the Department as a Professor of Chemistry on January 1.  Professor Rubinstein's expertise in polymer theory and computer simulations, along with his joint appointments in Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering and Physics, will expand the excellence and impact of our growing department through new interdisciplinary collaborations in soft matter research.    read more about The Department Welcomes Prof. Michael Rubinstein! »

The Malcolmson lab has reported a new class of reagents, 2-azadienes, for the catalytic enantioselective construction of chiral amines.  The 2-azadienes demonstrate reverse polarity (umpolung) of an enamine, facilitating catalytic addition of a nucleophile to its N-b-carbon and subsequent stereoselective electrophile trap at the a-carbon.  In this work, they illustrate the power of these reagents in reductive couplings with ketones for chemo-, diastereo-, and enantioselective preparation of 1,2-amino tertiary… read more about Malcolmson Lab Discloses New Reagent for Enantioselective Amine Synthesis »

Congratulations to John Lu, a recipient of a prestigious Marshall Scholarship!  Up to 40 Marshall Scholarships are awarded each year to high-achieving American students to pursue post-graduate studies at any university in the UK in any field. The award covers all university fees, cost-of-living expenses and many other costs.  John is a 2017 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, a Duke Faculty Scholar award winner and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. He is double-majoring in chemistry and… read more about Chemistry Major, John Lu, Named Marshall Scholar »

Congratulations to Aaron Mahler, a graduate student in the Yang lab, who has received a 2018 Phase I Molssi Software Fellowship from the Molecular Sciences Software Institute! This six month fellowship will provide support toward Aaron's continued research on theory and implementation of a localized orbital scaling correction to generate improved functionals. Congratulations, Aaron!   read more about Aaron Mahler Receives Molssi Software Fellowship »

Biology is well known to manipulate energy using proton-coupled electron transfer and phosphorylation reactions.  It was found recently that energy conversion can also occur via a new class of reactions, known as electron bifurcation reactions.  Remarkably, these reactions send one electron “uphill” and one “downhill,” enabling the overall reaction to satisfy the demands of thermodynamics.  Jonathon Yuly, a graduate student working with Profs. Zhang and Beratan in the… read more about Beratan Group Explains New Class of Electron Bifurcation Reactions »

The Wang, Malcolmson and Warren labs have teamed up to use diazirines as molecular imaging tags for biomedical applications.  Diazirines are an attractive class of potential molecular tags for magnetic resonance imaging with their biocompatibility and ease of incorporation into a large variety of molecules.  The team has recently demonstrated with a 15N2-diazirine-containing choline derivative that 15N2-diazirines are capable of supporting long-lasting polarization, … read more about Wang, Malcolmson and Warren Labs Promoting Hyperpolarization of 15N2-Diazirines for Novel NMR/MR Imaging Strategies »

Congratulations to Professor Emily Derbyshire - a recipient of a 2017 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. As part of the NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program, the award grants 1.5 million dollars over a five-year period to fund innovative, high-impact research from exceptionally creative early career investigators.  The award will support Professor Derbyshire’s ongoing efforts to understand the early stages of Plasmodium infection in humans, a key starting point in the development of new antimalarial… read more about Emily Derbyshire Receives NIH Director's New Innovator Award!!! »

Equilibrating glass-forming liquids is notoriously hard; Duke chemists and their collaborators in France have developed a way to circumvent this obstacle, enabling studies of extremely sluggish liquids. The results were just published in Proceedings the National Academy of Sciences and Physical Review Letters. The latter paper was also featured in Physics Synopsis and you can learn more on the Duke Research Blog. read more about Charbonneau Lab and Collaborators Cheat Time »

A recent publication in Nature Communications on selective carbon dioxide hydrogenation using plasmonic rhodium catalysts by the Liu lab and collaborators has been selected as one of eight featured articles in the Nature Research “Understanding Catalysis” collection. In preparation for the launch of Nature Catalysis, a new online-only journal in the Nature family, this specially curated collection brings together recent work that offer new understandings into… read more about Recent Liu Lab Work Selected for Nature Research “Understanding Catalysis” Collection  »

The Hargrove Lab compared bioactive ligands that target RNA to current FDA-approved drugs, nearly all of which target proteins. With the help of the Beratan Lab, they identified key differences in physical, structural, and spatial properties that distinguish RNA-targeted bioactive ligands. These unique insights are expected to facilitate the selection and synthesis of RNA-targeted libraries with the goal of efficiently identifying selective small molecule ligands for therapeutically relevant RNAs.  Read more about… read more about Hargrove Lab Discovers Distinctive Properties of RNA-targeted Chemical Probes »

Professor Amanda Hargrove has received a Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award (R35).  Professor Hargrove’s research under this award will aim to develop a diverse but uniquely RNA-targeted small molecule library along with effective general strategies for the targeting of disease-related RNA structures. Congratulations to Amanda and her research group on receipt of this prominent award!   read more about Amanda Hargrove Receives NIH MIRA! »

The Therien Lab, teamed with chemists at UC San Francisco, have created a synthetic protein that tightly binds a non-biological catalyst, a type of molecule called porphyrin that is capable of stealing electrons from other molecules when it absorbs light.  Read more about how the “protein gator” chomps porphyrin cofactors in the Nature Chemistry article available here.     read more about Therien Lab Solving Protein Design Puzzle One Chomp at a Time »

The Ph.D. dissertation by Yang Liu, a former Chemistry graduate student in the Vo-Dinh group, has recently been selected for the Springer Theses series.  Yang's thesis:  "Multifunctional Gold Nanostars for Cancer Theranostics”, will be featured in the Series, which annually publishes the best theses from internationally top-ranked research institutes.  Congratulations to Yang!   read more about Vo-Dinh Alumnus Selected for Springer Theses »

The Department is accepting applications for the Director of the Chemistry Department’s Shared Instrument Facility. The Director is responsible for the overall operation of the Facility, which includes but is not limited to instrument monitoring and maintenance, oversight of sample analyses, user training, administration for the Facility, and working with faculty to maximize the Facility's impact on the Department’s research output. The facility houses instrumentation for mass spectrometry and a variety of spectroscopies.… read more about Department Seeking New Director of Shared Instrument Facility »

A recent molecule, Takinib, developed by the Derbyshire and Haystead's labs, has been found to induce cell death in cancer cells by inhibiting the enzyme TAK-1.  Current testing is focused on Takinib’s possible therapeutic benefits in rheumatoid arthritis and could potentially expand to focus on other diseases, such as malaria.  Read more about this exciting molecule in the recent edition of Cell Chemical Biology.   read more about Derbyshire Lab and Pharmacology Collaborators Spur Cell Death in Tumors »

Professor Kevin Welsher has received his first NIH award, the prestigious Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award (R35).  Professor Welsher’s research aims to develop virus-locked 3D imaging methods to enable continuous observation throughout the infectious cycle from the perspective of a single virion. These methods will investigate the interactions of viral particles with the extracellular matrix, the cell membrane and cell surface receptors with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution.  Congratulations to… read more about Kevin Welsher Receives NIH-MIRA »

Chemistry alumna, Dr. Carol Ensigner (T'82, G'88), discusses her love of chemical education, her bond with Emeritus Professor Pelham Wilder, and her desire to break barriers in teaching in a recent Duke Forward article available here.  "It is my greatest hope that my gift will continue to strengthen chemistry at Duke and foster meaningful relationships between students and faculty.” - Carol Ensinger       read more about The Power of Passionate Teaching – an Alumna Gives Back by Honoring Legendary Chemistry Professor Pelham Wilder »

The Welsher Lab has created a 3D Virus Cam that can track particles that are faster moving and less bright than previous microscopes. This new development provides a robust method for real-time 3D tracking of fast and lowly emitting particles, based on a single excitation and detection pathway, paving the way to more widespread application to relevant biological problems.  Learn more about the Welsher Lab's "virus camera" in the recent issue of Optics Letters, available here or watch as it… read more about Welsher Lab Builds 3D Virus Camera »

Professor Weitao Yang has been named an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society.  This is the highest honor that the organization bestows, and the total number of recipients is limited to 100 worldwide.  The title was conferred in recognition of Prof. Yang's contribution to the development of the field of theoretical chemistry as a whole as well as the development of Chemistry in China.   read more about Weitao Yang Named Honorary Fellow of Chinese Chemical Society »

Yang Yang, recent graduate of Weitao Yang's lab, has received the 2016 Outstanding Dissertation Award in Theoretical Chemistry at the National Conference of Quantum Chemistry.  The award was presented in Dalian, China for the dissertation "Ground and Electronic Excited States from Pairing Matrix Fluctuation and Particle-Particle Random Phase Approximation".  Congratulations to Yang, who is now a Postdoctoral researcher with Sharon Hammes-Schiffer's group at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign… read more about Yang Yang Receives Dissertation Award »

The development of reactions that transform cheap and readily accessible materials to high-value products with minimal waste is an important objective in chemical synthesis.  Enantioselective intermolecular olefin hydrofunctionalizations meet these criteria but are rare.  The Malcolmson lab has reported the first examples of late transition metal-catalyzed enantioselective intermolecular hydroamination of olefins with aliphatic amines.  A range of acyclic 1,3-dienes undergo reaction with several amines in the… read more about Malcolmson Lab Reports Catalytic Enantioselective Intermolecular Hydroamination »

The Department of Chemistry is pleased to congratulate the recipients of the 2017-2018 Fellowship Awards: Joe Taylor Adams  Anita Donlic (Hargrove Group) Charles Bradsher Qiwei Han (Liu Group) Burroughs Wellcome Miles Blackburn (Roizen Group) George Bullard (Therien Group) Yangju Lin (Craig Group) Paul M. Gross Matt Catenacci (Wiley Group) C.R. Hauser Hyunji Lee (Hong Group) read more about Congratulations to the 2017-2018 Departmental Fellowship Recipients! »

The transformation of the free-energy landscape from smooth to hierarchical in glassy materials can significantly impact their low-temperature properties. With 30 pages of handwritten calculations Sho Yaida, a Duke postdoctoral fellow in the Charbonneau lab, has laid to rest a 30-year-old mystery about the nature of this transformation. The work was just published in Physical Review Letters. Learn more on Duke TODAY.   read more about 30-year-old Mystery on the Glass Problem Demystified »