Jean A. Chmielewski of West Lafayette, Ind., will be honored Sept. 9 by the world's largest scientific society for exploring new approaches to block diseases such as cancer and AIDS. She will receive the 2003 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society at its national meeting in New York.

Chmielewski and her research team at Purdue University "design and create new compounds particularly the architectural [aspect] is really what inspires me," said the bioorganic chemist. One focus is devise molecular "wedges" that disrupt the ability of the AIDS virus to reproduce and spread infection throughout the body.

Current AIDS drugs try to block the action of HIV proteins once they're made in an infected cell. Chmielewski tries to keep those proteins from being made in the first place.

Her approach is based on the fact that HIV proteins are doubles, or dimers, and only work when two copies are bound to each other. Chmielewski's wedges block the copies from locking together properly.

"The wedges are little mimics of the binding site," she explained. "The challenge is finding that grain of sand that gums up the process and then making it small enough to get into an infected cell." Several candidates have been tested in HIV-infected cells and initial results are promising, she added.

"Jean is a very determined, driven scientist with an outstanding background and with an equally outstanding personality," wrote a colleague to support her nomination for the award. Another described her as "energetic and an exceptional role model for young scientists."

As she grew up, Chmielewski first experimented not with a traditional chemistry set but simply with items found in her mother's kitchen. "I'd grow crystals and things like that," she remembered. "I knew very early on that I wanted to be a scientist, but what kind of scientist took a long time to evolve. Then I realized my chemistry classes clicked with my world vi
'"/>

Contact: Sharon Worthy
s_worthy@acs.org
202-872-4371
American Chemical Society
22-Aug-2003

Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Purdue food scientists improve testing of health supplements
2. Purdue researchers design fishes diets to make you healthier
3. Lasers light way to 3-D imaging in Purdue lab
4. $3 million gift from Purdue Pharma to support MGH Pain Program
5. Purdue stealth compounds attack cancer cells
6. NJIT chemistry professor edits text outlining best laboratory practices
7. Changing chemistry helps explain estrogen threat to the heart
8. Sealing corneal incisions with a drop of chemistry, BU researchers develop gel for cataract surgery
9. Herbal supplements testing topic of discussion at chemistry meeting March 30
10. Hopkins Peter Agre receives 2003 Nobel Prize in chemistry
11. Three Abbott chemists honored as Heroes for development of HIV therapy for children