Purdue Chemistry faculty awarded national awards from the American Chemical Society
2025-08-27
The American Chemical Society (ACS) has announced national awards for 2026 which includes two faculty from Purdue University. The awardees are being acknowledged for their outstanding achievements in chemistry across various fields in the discipline.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a non-profit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Their mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community, and champion scientific integrity. Their vision is a world built on science.
Philip Low, Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was awarded the Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry which is sponsored by Gilead Sciences.
This award recognizes outstanding contributions to research in medicinal chemistry. The award is presented biennially in even-numbered years and the recipient will present an award address at the spring meeting of the ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry.
“I feel honored any time that my work is recognized by my peers, but this is especially meaningful since it is awarded for our contributions to human health,” said Low. “Applied science that focuses on practical endpoints is often overlooked in favor of basic science discoveries, but this time I believe that the award was intended to honor the lives we are hopefully saving rather than chemistries we have designed.”
Low is a member of Purdue Institute for Cancer Research, Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery, and the Purdue Institute for Immunology, Inflammation and Infectious Diseases. The Low Group designs targeted medicines that concentrate specifically in the intended diseased cells and avoid uptake by healthy cells. Consequently, most of their medicines are less toxic and more potent than their nontargeted counterparts.
Christopher Uyeda, Herbert C. Brown Chair in Chemistry, was awarded the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award which is supported by an endowed fund established by Arthur C. Cope.
This award recognizes and encourages excellence in organic chemistry. Uyeda will deliver an award address at the Arthur C. Cope Symposium at the ACS Fall Meeting. Ten scholars are named annually in three categories: two individuals who have less than ten years of experience since their terminal degree will receive the Arthur C. Cope Early Career Scholars Award, four individuals who have 10 to 25 years of experience since their terminal degree will receive the Arthur C. Cope Mid-Career Scholars Award, and four individuals who have 25 plus years of experience since their terminal degree will receive the Arthur C. Cope Distinguished Scholars Award.
“When I first went to an ACS meeting as an undergraduate student, I remember attending the Cope Symposium and being awed by all of the exciting work being done in organic chemistry,” said Uyeda. “It was one of the reasons that I decided to go to graduate school and pursue my PhD in that field. I never imagined at the time that I would eventually be one of the recipients of the Cope Scholar Award.”
According to Uyeda, pharmaceutical compounds have complex chemical structures that are challenging to manufacture on the large scales needed for use by patients. His lab focuses on developing new reactions that make the synthesis of these molecules more cost-effective, while avoiding reagents and catalysts that are supply-chain limited. One of his recent discoveries was applied to the commercial synthesis of Paxlovid, a first-in-class treatment for COVID-19.
“With the recent announcement of the Advanced Chemistry Initiative as part of OneHealth, this is an exciting time at Purdue to be involved in developing new technologies for the next-generation synthesis of pharmaceutical compounds,” said Uyeda.
According to the ACS, nominations are being accepted for the 2027 national awards through Nov. 1, 2025. More information about the awards and nomination process is available at www.acs.org/nationalawards.
About Purdue Chemistry
The Tarpo Department of Chemistry is internationally acclaimed for its excellence in chemical education and innovation, boasting two Nobel laureates in organic chemistry, the #1 ranked analytical chemistry program, and a highly successful drug discovery initiative that has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties. chem.purdue.edu
Contributors:
Philip Low, Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Christopher Uyeda, Herbert C. Brown Chair in Chemistry
Written by: Cheryl Pierce, Purdue University College of Science