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TSRI Scientists Receive Awards from the American Chemical Society

La Jolla, CA. September 10, 1998 -- Four professors at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have been named 1999 recipients of national awards from the American Chemical Society (ACS) for a broad range of scientific contributions in the discipline.

Dale L. Boger, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Chemistry and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, has received the ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, sponsored by Aldrich Chemical Co., Inc. His research interests include the total synthesis of natural products, the development of new synthetic methodology, bioorganic and medicinal chemistry, and the chemistry of antitumor antibiotics. Prior to his appointment at TSRI, Boger was Professor, Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry, at Purdue University and a member of the Executive Committee at Purdue University Cancer Center. He is the Editor of Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters and a member of the executive editorial board of Tetrahedron Publications. Boger is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Searle Scholar Award, NIH Research Career Development Award, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, ISHC Katritzky Award in Heterocyclic Chemistry, American Cyanamid Academic Award, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship.

Chi-Huey Wong, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Chemistry and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, is the recipient of the Claude S. Hudson Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry, sponsored by National Starch & Chemical Co. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to carbohydrate chemistry in education, research or application. He is also the recipient of the 1998 Harrison Howe Award in Chemistry, presented by the ACS Rochester Section. Wong specializes in the production and use of natural or modified enzymes for organic synthesis, the development of enzyme inhibitors, and the study of carbohydrate-mediated biological recognitions. His work has important implications for efforts related to the creation of rationally designed drugs. He has been a member of TSRI's faculty since 1989. Previously he held a joint appointment as Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Biophysics and the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University. Wong's work has been recognized by a number of prominent organizations; he is the recipient of the Searle Scholar Award in Biomedical Sciences, Presidential Young Investigator Award in Chemistry, Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, the International Carbohydrate Award, in honor of Roy Whistler, and the ACS Wolfrom Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition, he is the Editor-in-Chief of Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry.

M. Reza Ghadiri, Ph.D., and Kim D. Janda, Ph.D., both professors in the Department of Chemistry, have been awarded the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Awards, recognizing outstanding achievements in the field of organic chemistry. Ghadiri's research efforts involve developing novel methods for the rational design and construction of biomaterials-based membrane channels, artificial proteins, molecular receptors, and enzymes. He became a member of TSRI's faculty in 1989 upon completion of postdoctoral work at The Rockefeller University. Ghadiri holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. He has been awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, Searle Scholars Award, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award, and the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry.

Kim D. Janda, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, joined TSRI's staff in 1985 as a postdoctoral fellow. His research interests include studies on catalytic antibodies and enzymes, reactive immunization, immunopharmacotherapy for the treatment of cocaine abuse, cancer immunopharmacotherapy, combinatorial chemistry, and reversible and irreversible inhibitors of the HIV protease. Janda completed a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Arizona. He is the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the NIH FIRST Award. Janda serves on the editorial review boards for Combinatorial Chemistry Research and Application, Bioorganic Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Bioorganic Medicinal Chemistry, Combinatorial Chemistry High- Throughput Screening, I Drugs, and the Journal of Combinatorial Chemistry.

For more information contact:
Keith McKeown
10550 North Torrey Pines Road
La Jolla, California 92037

Tel: 858.784.8134
Fax: 858.784.8118
kmckeown@scripps.edu