Prof. Helma Wennemers wins the 2016 Pedler Award
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Prof. Helma Wennemers is this year's winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry Pedler Award: "For the profound and elegant discovery of small molecules that function like natural macromolecules"
The Pedler Award is given for contributions to an area of Organic Chemistry from a researcher under the age of 55. Prof. Helma Wennemers is the first female scientist to receive the Pedler Award since it was initiated in 1929. It is also the first time since Leopold Ruzicka was awarded in 1932 that the award goes to a researcher in Switzerland.
The citation for Professor Helma Wennemers’ award reads: “For the profound and elegant discovery of small molecules that function like natural macromolecules”.
Proteins have a range of functions in nature, from giving bones and skin their structural integrity, to playing a key role in metabolism. Prof. Helma Wennemers’ research group uses peptides, the small analogs of proteins, to interrogate how natural proteins work and utilizes the power of organic synthesis to access new functions that nature might have not had in the repertoire of building blocks. This scope includes the development of bioinspired asymmetric catalysts and functionalizable collagen, and molecular scaffolds for applications in supramolecular and biological chemistry (e.g., cell-penetrating peptides, and tumor targeting) and the controlled formation of metal nanoparticles.
Professor Wennemers receives a medal and a certificate and will deliver lectures at up to four UK universities. This award commemorates Sir Alexander Pedler, benefactor of the Royal Society of London, the Chemical Society, the Institute of Chemistry, and the British Science Guild. She said: “This is a wonderful recognition of the research my team and I are pursuing. I am deeply honored to be included in the exquisite list of former Pedler Awardees.”
An illustrious list of 47 previous winners of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Awards have gone on to win Nobel Prizes for their pioneering work, including Harry Kroto, Fred Sanger and Linus Pauling.
Dr. Robert Parker, chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry said: “It is an honor to recognize the illustrious achievements of our prize and award winners in our 175th anniversary year. We were founded in 1841 by a group of academics, industrialists and doctors who understood the power of the chemical sciences to change our world for the better. Our winners share that vision and are advancing excellence in their fields, whether through innovative research or inspirational teaching and outreach. We are proud to celebrate and support the work of inspiring and influential individuals, whose work has the potential to improve so many lives."
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