Prof. of Molecular and Cellular Biology William Metcalf Named AAAS Fellow
William Metcalf, G. William Arends Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, one of six Illinois researchers named American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows.
Genome mining effort discovers 19 new natural products in four years
Chemistry professor Wilfred van der Donk (left), postdoctoral researcher Kou-San Ju, microbiology professor William Metcalf and colleagues used genome mining to discover new natural products quickly and inexpensively.
Researchers Look to HIV Drug To Potentially Fight Bacterial Infections
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Douglas Mitchell and colleagues look to an HIV drug to help combat a virulent bacteria strain.
Team Discovers How Microbes Build a Powerful Antibiotic
Chemistry professor Wilfred van der Donk and group solved a decades-old mystery into how a broad class of natural antibiotics are made.
Novel roadmap through bacterial genomes leads to new drug discovery
Microbiologist and molecular and cellular biologist Bill Metcalf leads collaboration on algorithm to analyze microbial genomic data discover new therapeutic drugs.
Innovative Technique Transforms Hunt for Antibiotics and Cancer Therapies
Antibiotic resistance is depleting our arsenal against deadly diseases and infections, such as tuberculosis and Staph infections, but recent research shows promise to speed up the drug discovery process. In a study reported in ACS Chemical Biology, University of Illinois researchers developed a new technique to quickly uncover novel, medically relevant products produced by bacteria.
Illinois Professor elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
University of Illinois professor Wilfred A. van der Donk, the Richard E. Heckert Endowed Chair in Chemistry, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the longest-standing honorary societies in the nation. Van der Donk will join Tere R. O’Connor, a professor of dance, and John A. Rogers, the Swanlund Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, in an induction ceremony in October at the academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.
It takes a(n academic) village to determine an enzyme's function
Scientists have sequenced the genomes of nearly 6,900 organisms, but they know the functions of only about half of the protein-coding genes thus far discovered. Now a multidisciplinary effort involving 15 scientists from three institutions has begun chipping away at this mystery – in a big way. Their work to identify the function of one bacterial protein and the biochemical pathway in which it operates will also help identify the functions of hundreds of other proteins.
Illinois Professor Douglad A. Mitchell to Receive NIH Director's New Innovator Award
Douglas A. Mitchell, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois, is a recipient of the 2011 National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award. The award recognizes bold ideas from some of the nation’s most promising new scientists.
The $1.5 million award, given over a period of five years, supports young investigators who have proposed exceptionally creative research ideas that have the potential to produce important medical advances.
Mitchell uses chemical methods to study the mechanisms that contribute to bacterial virulence and antibiotic resistance. His current studies focus on the thiazole/oxazole-modified microcins, a class of microbial compounds with profound structural and functional diversity. While some of these compounds have antibiotic or anticancer activity, others are disease-promoting toxins.
WCIA Interview with Bill Metcalf on Fighting Malaria (video)
University of Illinois researchers are trying to find a way to lower the cost of malaria medicine. The lead investigator, Bill Metcalf, is a Professor of Microbiology. He, along with three other departments and students, wants to speed up production of the antibiotic. This would in turn lower the cost.
They've discovered the genes of the antibiotic already used to treat malaria.
"We first started looking for these genes probably five years ago," says Metcalf. "There's still a problem with it though. The reason it didn't go into human use before is it's too expensive."
Awards
Douglas Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Chemistry received a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation.
Douglas Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Chemistry received the 2015 Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry from the American Chemical Society Division of Biological Chemistry.
Brian T. Cunningham, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been named Donald Biggar Willett Professors in the College of Engineering.
Douglas Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Chemistry has been named a 2015-2016 Helen Corley Petit Scholar.
Brian T. Cunningham, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering has received a Technical Achievement Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Cunningham received the award “for development and commercialization of optics-based biosensors and detection instruments for applications in drug discovery, diagnostics, environmental monitoring and life science research.”
Wilfred van der Donk has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the longest-standing honorary societies in the nation.
Brian Cunningham was elected as a 2013 Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. According to NAI, "Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society." Brian was also elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America “for the invention, development, and commercialization of biosensors and detection instrumentation based upon nanostructured surfaces, and the development of biological applications.”
William Metcalf was named by the University of Illinois as the G. William Arends Professor in Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Jonathan Sweedler have been named as Center for Advanced Study Professors. Appointment as a CAS Professor is one of the university’s highest academic honors, and reflects the outstanding contributions made by these faculty in their respective areas of interest. Jonathan also won the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Analytical Chemistry, recognizing "outstanding contributions to the science of analytical chemistry" for his pioneering development of methods to detect extraordinarily small quantities of neurotransmitters.
