Hindsight is often 2020, but in the year of 2020, the playbook for academic research and discovery was re-written. Despite the profound changes in how we work and live brought on by the pandemic, the dedicated faculty, staff and students of the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute rose to the occasion.
Stepping boldly into this brave new world, we found new ways to connect, create and propel faculty research and student training forward. By year’s end, we welcomed our new Interim Director Neil Kelleher and said goodbye to CLP founding director Thomas O’Halloran. Tom’s vision of an interdisciplinary accelerator for biomedical discovery has led to scores of pioneering therapies and tools for detecting and diagnosing diseases, from COVID-19 to cancer. Each discovery has paved the way for future innovations and made an indelible impact upon people’s lives.
We look forward to 2021 and the opportunity to make even greater contributions to scientific discovery and translation at Northwestern.
Following are some highlights from this extraordinary year:
RESEARCH BREAKTHROUGHS
CLP member Karl Scheidt developed a promising molecular tool that targets and inhibits a fundamental component of cell immortality: the enzyme telomerase.
Northwestern Proteomics, a CLP-affiliated center announced a new, game-changing technique for characterizing and identifying proteins with extreme precision.
CLP member Michael Jewett leveraged his technology for a synthetic biology-based platform for mass manufacture of simplified antibody-based drugs that can be produced in bacteria rather than mammalian cells to get a COVID-19 treatment into the clinic 10 times faster.
A one-step diagnostic tool that can test for infectious diseases, including COVID-19, received a NSF RAPID grant. The initial research, developed by CLP members Julius Lucks, Michael Jewett and Josh Leonard, was supported, in part, by CLP’s Cornew Innovation Award.
CLP member Hande Ozdinler discovered the mechanism behind upper motor neuron degeneration.
CLP’s Recombinant Protein Production Core purified two proteases central to the function of the SARS CoV-2 virus and the likeliest candidates for drug targets.
NEW FEDERAL FUNDING
CLP partnered with Argonne, and others to launch a $8.2 million national resource to unlock the role of metals in human health.
CLP-affiliated Northwestern Proteomics received a $7 million grant to expand the impact of its National Center for Proteomics
TRANSLATING INNOVATIONS
In the first quarter of 2020, CLP spinout Monopar Therapeutics went public experiencing the “best first-day pop for an IPO since 2005”. The company’s stock price rocketed 231 percent from its initial offering, reaching a market valuation of $289 million on its first day.
CLP and Oppenheimer held a second annual Biotech by the Lake Investor Summit attracting 300 investors, venture firms, pharma and biotech industry members and researchers, from across the US, Canada, China, UK and beyond.
PROMOTING WOMEN IN STEM
Several female CLP faculty members participated in a frank discussion with students and staff about inclusion in academia and STEM fields, based on their personal and professional experiences.
Honors and Recognition (representative list)
- Thomas O’Halloran and Michael Jewett were elected to the National Academy of Inventors
- Thomas Meade received the World Molecular Imaging Society Gold Medal Award.
- Guillermo Ameer received the Clemson Award for Contributions to the Literature.
- Teri Odom received the 2020 Centenary Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
- Michael Jewett and Nathan Gianneschi were elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s (AIMBE) College of Fellows.
- Alex Waters, director of MRI services in the CLP’s Center for Advanced Molecular Imaging, received a 2021 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Imaging Scientists Award.
- Seven CLP core facilities were recognized by the Office for Research for outstanding performance Service Excellence Awards.
- CLP’s Executive Advisory Board chair Andrew Chan received the 2020 Northwestern Alumni Medal.