Aerial view of UCSD campus looking South

Geisel Library - Nobel Laureates at UCSD

Discovery of new atmospheric reaction garners prize

Urey Hall Addition

Pacific Hall

Natural Sciences Building

The crystal structure of a group II intron in the pre-catalytic state

Geisel Library Walk

York Hall

Structure of an inhibitor of hepatitis C virus protein synthesis bound to its target in the viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome

ANCA probe staining amyloid plaques derived from Alzheimer’s-related Aβ peptides fluoresces as green and as yellow when derived from prion proteins (PrP^SC)

Price Center

Generation of bio-resistive surface coatings on amyloids inhibits harmful protein-amyloid interactions associated with Alzheimer disease

Proposed schematic models of the interfacial binding surface of four different members of the Phospholipase A2 superfamily

Urey Hall and Pacific Hall

Characterization of the "inhibitor binding pocket" in the catalytic domain of the calcium-independent phospholipase A2 with residues within a 5 A raidus of the inhibitor shown

A Crystalline Singlet Phosphinonitrene: a Nitrogen Atom Transfer Agent

Mayer Hall

Drug candidate in orange envelope bound to UPPS

Possible binding modes for phospholipase A2 via its membrane interaction site, another allosteric site, and its catalytic site

News

Kamen Prize won by Dr. Sharon Torigoe and Andro Rios

Dr. Sharon Torigoe (from the lab of Dr. James Kadonaga, Section of Molecular Biology) and Dr. Andro Rios (from the lab of Dr. Yitzhak Tor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry) have both been chosen to receive the Kamen Prize for 2012-13. The Prize was established in 1978 by friends and family of Professor Martin D. Kamen to recognize the outstanding thesis in biochemistry defended each year at UCSD. Dr. Torigoe won for her dissertation "Identification of the Prenucleosome and Analysis of the Mechanism of ATP-dependent Chromatin assembly." Dr. Rios won for his dissertation "On the origin of the canonical nucleobases: selection pressures and hydrolytic stabilities of N-glycosyl bonds." Professor Kamen was a co-discoverer of carbon 14 while at UC Berkeley in the early 1940s. He came to UCSD in 1960 and continued important work on photosynthetic transport proteins until his retirement. He passed away in 2002. A cash prize of $1,500 will be awarded to each recipient in June, and they are invited to present the Martin D. Kamen Lecture the following academic year.

Carlos Guerrero selected as 2013-14 Hellman Fellow

Assistant Professor Carlos Guerrero has been selected as a 2013-2014 Hellman Fellow. The Hellman Fellowship Program was established at UCSD in 1995 through the generosity of Chris and Warren Hellman. The program is designed to provide financial support and encouragement to young faculty in the core disciplines who show capacity for great distinction in their research and creative activities.

DARPA Awards $6 Million to Develop Nanotech Therapies for Traumatic Brain Injuries

DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has awarded $6 million to a team of researchers to develop nanotechnology therapies for the treatment of traumatic brain injury and associated infections. Led by Professor Michael J. Sailor, Ph.D., of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California San Diego, the award brings together a multi-disciplinary team of renowned experts in laboratory research, translational investigation and clinical medicine, including Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D. of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Sangeeta N. Bhatia, M.D., Ph.D. of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Clark C. Chen, M.D., Ph.D. of UC San Diego School of Medicine. According to Chen, The work proposed by this multi-disciplinary team should provide new tools to mitigate the debilitating effects of penetrating brain injuries and offer our warfighters the best chance of meaningful recovery.

K.C. Nicolaou elected to The Royal Society

K.C. Nicolaou, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UC San Diego, Department Chairman and Darlene Shiley Chair in Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute, and Aline W. and L.S. Skaggs Chair in Chemical Biology at the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology has been named a foreign member of the Royal Society, a fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists. Founded in 1660, it is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Foreign Members are elected for life through a peer-review process on the basis of excellence in science. Professor Nicolaou's laboratory has achieved the total synthesis of many highly complex natural products. His advances have resulted in the preparation of mechanistically based novel antitumor agents such as calicheamicin and taxol, as well as antibiotics, kinase modulators, and marine toxins such as brevetoxin.

Biological Activity Alters the Ability of Particles from Sea Spray to Seed Clouds

Ocean biology alters the chemical composition of sea spray in ways that influence its ability to form clouds over the ocean. That's the conclusion of a team of scientists using a new approach to study tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols that can influence climate by absorbing or reflecting sunlight and seeding clouds. Kimberly Prather, Distinguished Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of California, San Diego and Director of the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Climate and the Environment led a team of more than 30 scientists involved in a project reported in the early, online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science the week of April 22. Co-authors from UC San Diego include Timothy Bertram, Douglas Collins, Luis Cuadra-Rodriguez, Timothy Guasco, Matthew Ruppel, Olivia Ryder, Nathan Schoepp and Defeng Zhao from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Grant Deane, Dale Stokes, Lihini Aluwihare, Brian Palenik, Farooq Azam, Gregory Roberts, Lynn Russell, Craig Corriga, Michelle Kim, William Lambert, Robin Modini and Byron Evans Pedler from Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and Mario Molina, who holds a joint appointment. Additional co-authors include scientists from the University of Iowa, Colorado State University, California Institute of Technology, University of the Pacific, UC Davis, Northwestern University and Centre National de Recherches étéorologiques. The National Science Foundations Center for Chemical Innovation supports the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Climate and the Environment (CHE 1038028).

Trevor McMorris

Professor Emeritus Trevor McMorris passed away Tuesday, February 19th, following a long illness with Parkinsons disease. A member of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department faculty since 1973, his research focused on the design and synthesis of analogs of natural substances, such as the antitumor agent illudin and the plant hormone brassinolide. Retired since 2001, he was known as one of the departments best teachers. A memorial will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 19th, in the Large Conference Room of Neural Circuits and Behavior (building 805, formerly the Center for Molecular Genetics).

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Message from the Chair

Seth M. Cohen, Chair       Thank you for visiting the website of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego.

      The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at U.C. San Diego is a nationally and internationally recognized center of excellence in teaching and research. Our distinguished faculty includes members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, and two Nobel Laureates: Mario Molina (1995) and Roger Tsien (2008). Currently, our department consists of >250 graduate students (Ph.D. and M.S.), >100 postdoctoral researchers, and research funds of >$25M annually. In addition, we have among the largest undergraduate participation in the nation with >1400 undergraduate majors and ~70 undergraduate minors.

      Our department continues to thrive due to a number of activities. We continue to grow, expanding our faculty and student ranks by recruiting the most accomplished scientists and exceptionally talented students. Our faculty and students also participate in innovation cutting-edge research programs that often reside at the interfaces between chemistry and other scientific disciplines, including biology, medicine, physics, atmospheric science, and engineering. Our faculty investigates an incredible breadth of topics in organic, inorganic, physical, analytical, theoretical, surface, materials, atmospheric, and environmental chemistry, as well as topics in biochemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, chemical biology, systems biology, and structural biology. Indeed, we have one of the most diverse research portfolios of Chemistry and Biochemistry Department in the country. Importantly, state-of-the-art facilities and equipment are available to support our research and educational programs.

      Beyond the Department, collaborations with other campus units such as the School of Medicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego Supercomputer Center, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, and many others are commonplace. Opportunities to interact with, and capitalize on, the rich research environment of the La Jolla mesa neighboring U.C. San Diego also exist. Students and faculty routinely cooperate with local non-profit institutions such as the Salk Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, the Sanford-Burnham Institute, as well as several for-profit chemical and biotechnology companies throughout the area.

      Finally, the Department collectively tries to foster an inclusive sense of community and teamwork. The Department is committed to an equal-opportunity workplace, community outreach, and opportunities for enhancing faculty, student, and staff diversity. As you browse through our Web site, I hope you will develop a sense of why the Department is proud of our past achievements and why we are optimistic and excited about our future.

Seth M. Cohen, Chair

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