A team of researchers in the Department of Chemistry has published a study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that presents new insights into these mechanisms, specifically challenging conventional understanding of cation−π interactions—a key noncovalent force that has been central to our understanding of protein binding for the last 40 years. Moreover, these findings have the potential to lead to new therapeutic approaches.

On October 9, 2024, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to David Baker (1/2) and to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper (1/2) for their groundbreaking work in computational protein design and protein structure prediction. This prestigious recognition highlights the significant contributions of Dr. Brian Kuhlman, a current faculty member at UNC, whose work during his postdoctoral fellowship with David Baker played a crucial role in this achievement.

Sarah E. Harris under the direction of Dr. Daniel Dominguez successfully defended her dissertation on September 16, 2024 and received her PhD!

Shu Zhang under the direction of Dr. Henrik Dohlman successfully defended her dissertation on August 15, 2024 and received her PhD!

The School of Medicine Dean’s Office Research awarded Pharmacology’s Nicholas Brown, PhD the Jefferson-Pilot Fellowships in Academic Medicine which are given to talented junior faculty across all disciplines in the School of Medicine.

The Graduate Fellow Awards in Basic Science is annual competitive $3,000 award for outstanding graduate students in the research programs of cancer center members who have active, peer-reviewed grant support.

Amelia McCue successfully defended her PhD thesis titled “Engineering Tumor-Selective T Cell Engager Prodrugs for Cancer Immunotherapy” on Thursday, May 23, 2024, under the guidance of Dr. Brian Kuhlman.

Thanh Thanh Nguyen Phan successfully defended her dissertation titled, “Design, characterization and immunogenicity of soluble Envelope proteins from Dengue viruses as subunit vaccines” on March 29, 2024, in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics under the direction of Dr. Brian Kuhlman.

Xavier Bonner under the direction of Dr. Ronald Swanstrom successfully defended his dissertation “Determining Genotypic and Phenotypic Factors Influencing Macrophage Tropism in the HIV-1 Envelope Protein” on March 15, 2024 and received his PhD!

The prestigious and competitive fellowship program recognizes outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions.