July 2018 July 16: We mourn the passing of Alfred Alberts ’53, a notable alumnus and discoverer of lovastatin while at Merck Pharmaceuticals. Marketed by Merck as Mevacor, lovastatin is the first of a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. We feel extremely grateful that he was able to visit us in 2011 to meet our students and faculty and share the story of his work on the groundbreaking drug. The department holds the yearly Alfred Alberts Award in Biochemistry for an outstanding graduate student in biology, chemistry, or biochemistry. You can read more about his life and contributions in The New York Times obituary. May 2018 May 17: Professor Maria Contel receives a $1.57M award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences for the project “Biodegradable nanocarriers and antibodies as targeting delivery vehicles for cancer metallodrugs.” May 7: Professor Emilio Gallicchio receives an award from the Faculty Early Career Program (CAREER) of the National Science Foundation for the project “Theory, Models and Computer Simulation of Molecular Recognition Processes” April 2018 April 20: This month, the department’s Career Blog features Lieutenant Kerton R. Victory of the United States Public Health Service. Lieutenant Victory works with the Centers for Disease Control in the field of public health, working to make sure that the nation’s first responders are safe as they respond to disasters. Learn more about the role of science in disaster preparedness, and the challenges that professionals face in a world of ever-changing threats to public safety. April 13: Professor Aneta Mieszawska is awarded a PSC-A grant for the project “Pre-clinical Evaluation of PLGA Nano-Particles for Pt (II) Delivery and Active Targeting of Ovarian Cancer.” April 13: Professor Guillermo Gerona-Navarro is awarded a PSC-B grant for the project “Targeting VEFS-SUZ12: An Alternative Strategy to Develop Novel Epigenetic Cancer Therapies.” April 13: Professor Emilio Gallicchio is awarded a PSC-A grant for the project “Dissemination of High-Performance Computing Software for Free Energy-Based Virtual Drug Screening.” April 10: The Chemistry Society presents the “Effects of Chemical Warfare” discussion. March 2018 March 28: This month, the department’s Career Blog features Professor Aaron Frank, a Brooklyn College alumnus whose career has spanned both the biotech industry and academia. Find out more about his work as a researcher at the forefront of chemistry, biology, and computer simulation. March 9: Professor Emilio Gallicchio publishes “Assessment of a Single Decoupling Alchemical Approach for the Calculation of the Absolute Binding Free Energies of Protein-Peptide Complexes” in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences: Molecular Recognition. March 5: Professor Maria Contel publishes “A heterometallic ruthenium–gold complex displays antiproliferative, antimigratory, and antiangiogenic properties and inhibits metastasis and angiogenesis-associated proteases in renal cancer” in JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. February 2018 February 14: This month, the department’s Career Blog features Yousra Abdelhadi, Brooklyn College alumna and award-winning science educator. Find out more about her work in the flavorings and cosmetics industries and her transition to a fulfilling career as a teacher. January 2018 January 25: The department is hiring a senior college laboratory technician. Apply. January 9: Assistant Professor Aneta Mieszawska publishes “Platinum(II) Complex-Nuclear Localization Sequence Peptide Hybrid for Overcoming Platinum Resistance in Cancer Therapy” in ACS Biomaterials.
