NYU opened its Biomedical Chemistry Institute, which will promote cross-disciplinary research in areas aimed at improving human health, earlier this semester. Collaborative work conducted by the primary BCI researchers includes carbohydrate-based cancer diagnostics, anti-malarial drug development, new antibiotics, and molecular sensors for disease states.
NYU opened its Biomedical Chemistry Institute, which will promote cross-disciplinary research in areas aimed at improving human health, earlier this semester.
The Institute, part of NYU’s Department of Chemistry, is an outgrowth of extensive cooperative efforts between the department and NYU School of Medicine, which has generated dozens of collaborations. It features a new laboratory on the 8th floor of NYU’s Silver Building, housing multiple research groups conducting studies that combine chemistry and biomedical sciences.
As part of the Institute's development, NYU has hired two new senior faculty members in chemistry. Professor Keith Woerpel is a renowned synthetic chemist with interests in malaria therapeutics, and Professor Lara Mahal is a chemical biologist widely regarded for her work on carbohydrates. They are joined by Professor Kent Kirshenbaum, an eight-year faculty member of the Department of Chemistry, and Daniela Buccella, a new faculty hire from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who will begin her faculty career at NYU beginning in September 2011.
Collaborative work conducted by the primary BCI researchers includes carbohydrate-based cancer diagnostics, anti-malarial drug development, new antibiotics, and molecular sensors for disease states. These efforts also bridge to numerous affiliates of the BCI and a wide range of activities aim to employ chemistry for the advancement of medical technology and understanding of disease pathways.
