Etcetera

Chi-Huey Wong Wins Humboldt Research Award
Scripps Research Institute Professor Chi-Huey Wong has been selected as the recipient of a Humboldt Research Award in recognition of lifetime achievements in research. The award, conferred by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, seeks to honor outstanding scientists and scholars from all disciplines whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.

Wong directs his research towards the development of new chemical-enzymatic strategies for the synthesis of biologically active compounds and chiral intermediates; the design and synthesis of mechanism-based inhibitors of enzymes or receptors; the study of carbohydrate-based biological recognition and its intervention; and the investigation of reaction mechanisms.

As an award recipient, Wong is invited to carry out research projects in cooperation with colleagues in Germany. For more information on the award, see the Humboldt Foundation website.

Michael Zwick Receives Young Investigator Award
Michael Zwick, assistant professor in the Scripps Research Department of Immunology, has been selected to receive one of the American Society of Microbiology's prestigious Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Young Investigator Awards, which recognize and reward early-career scientists for research excellence and potential in microbiology and infectious diseases.

According to the American Society of Microbiology, "Dr. Zwick has distinguished himself in the field of HIV research through his rational approach to trying to solve the problems associated with an HIV vaccine. His method is based on gaining an understanding of the molecular details of the useful antibodies generated to date, and the sites on the virus that the antibodies target—a strategy that will be essential to designing improvements to any molecules used in an HIV-1 vaccine."

The award, which is sponsored by Merck and Company, will be presented during the society's 47th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy this month in Chicago.

Tucker Roberts Awarded ACS Medicinal Chemistry Fellowship
Tucker Roberts, a Ph.D. candidate in the Kellogg School of Science and Technology who is working in the Romesberg lab, has been awarded an American Chemical Society (ACS) Medicinal Chemistry Fellowship—one of only eight such awards given nationally. Roberts' research involves the synthesis of the arylomycin natural products and the search for new antibiotics. As part of the award, he will present his research at the national ACS meeting next fall.

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