Chemistry and Chemical Biology Fellowships Announced

Each year, the department of chemistry and chemical biology receives a number of corporate fellowships for organic chemistry research. These fellowships are sponsored by several corporations whose support has been instrumental to the training of graduate students in the department. The fellowships for 1999-00 have been sponsored by Eli Lilly Research Laboratories, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, and Glaxo Wellcome Inc.

Eli Lilly Pre-doctoral Fellowships

Eli Lilly is a global research-based pharmaceutical company that has, in recent years, marketed several important new drugs for the treatment of cancer, schizophrenia, osteoporosis, diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular complications. Since 1991, they have given the department of chemistry and chemical biology $100,000 each year to be used for five graduate fellowships. The 1999-00 Eli Lilly Pre-doctoral Fellowship recipients are David Barnes-Seeman (working with E. J. Corey), Steven Bruner (working with Gregory Verdine), Brian Connell (working with David Evans), Gojko Lalic (working with Matthew Shair), and Jongwon Lim (working with Yoshito Kishi).

Roche Fellowships in Organic Chemistry

Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. has six global research centers, which span three continents. The therapeutic areas the company is involved in include oncology; metabolic diseases – including obesity and diabetes; virology – including HIV; influenza and hepatitis C; as well as inflammation/autoimmune, vascular, and genitourinary diseases. In 1997, the company established a five-year Roche Fellowship with Chemistry, which provides support for five graduate students. The 1999-00 Roche Fellows are Paul Clemons (working with Stuart Schreiber), Jeffrey Katz (working with David Evans), Greg Korbel (working with Matthew Shair), Mohammad Movassaghi (working with Andrew Myers), and Michal Storek (working with Gregory Verdine).

Bristol-Myers Squibb Graduate Fellowship in Synthetic Organic Chemistry

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute’s research portfolio spans therapeutic areas in oncology, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, infectious disease, immunology/inflammation, neuroscience, pain management, dermatological disease, pulmonary disease, and urology. In 1998, Bristol-Myers Squibb awarded the department of chemistry and chemical biology a three-year fellowship of $38,000 annually for research in organic synthesis and for a symposium. Petr Vachal, working with Eric Jacobsen, is the second Bristol-Myers Squibb Graduate Fellow. This year’s symposium will be held on Monday, April 17, at 2:30 p.m. in the Pfizer Lecture Hall. Guest lecturers will be Professor James Panek of Boston University and William Roush of the University of Michigan. Panek will give a presentation on “Studies on the Asymmetric Synthesis of Complex Natural Products” and Roush will speak on “Problems in Glycoside Chemistry.” Matthew Shair, assistant professor in chemistry and chemical biology, will host the symposium. Shair is also one of two recipients of a Bristol-Myers Squibb Unrestricted Grant in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. These grants are given to young faculty and provide each recipient with an unrestricted grant of $300,000 over a period of three years. Bristol-Myers Squibb also held a symposium at its research facilities in Wallingford, Conn. during which the fellows and grant recipients were invited to give presentations on their research, tour the research facilities, and meet the company’s chemistry staff.

Glaxo Wellcome Fellowship

In 1998, Glaxo Wellcome, a leader in respiratory, central nervous system, AIDS/HIV, and anti-infective research, awarded the chemistry and chemical biology department with fellowship support for two years. Emanuele Ostuni, working with George Whitesides, is the second Glaxo Wellcome Fellow.