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AREAS OF RESEARCH:

Analytical Chemistry

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Bioenergy and the Environment

Biophysics

Chemical Biology

Inorganic Chemistry

Materials and Nanoscience

Metabolism, Aging and Development

Organic Chemistry

Physical Chemistry

Structural and Computational Biology

Systems Biology and Biological Regulation

Theory and Computational Chemistry

607 Charles E. Young Drive EastLos Angeles, CA 90095-1569Tel: 310.825.3958www.chemistry.ucla.edu

chemistry and biochemistry today

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY AT UCLA 1

welcome to our department

exciting, engaging, and appropriate so that incoming first-

year students feel, “I can do this!” To that end, resources

including our brand new organic chemistry labs and

forthcoming Mani L. Bhaumik Centennial Collaboratory in

the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry will provide

students of all levels space to spark new ideas by studying

and working together.

A positive student experience results in alumni passionate

about giving back, and we are proud that our department

has so many generous alumni. And there are so many ways

to give back! Graduates of our department return faithfully

to share their advice and professional guidance with current

students, such as those in our Careers in Chemistry &

Biochemistry course. (“Alumni Give Back” on pages 6 & 7.)

Awards and fellowships made possible by our donors

recognize and develop the strengths of our students in

research and teaching. These awards have a big impact

on a burgeoning resume or CV. In many cases, it’s hard to

choose who receives an award! This was a big impetus

for the development of new funds like the Daniel E. Atkinson

& Charles A. West Prizes in Metabolic Biochemistry.

Given the depth of our faculty and the opportunities they

present for graduate students to expand their research

prowess, we’re hoping to develop more graduate student

fellowships. Right now, gifts have an even greater impact

thanks to a departmental match made possible by funds from

the patent of a compound developed by organic chemistry

professor Dr. Michael Jung, whose work led to the life-saving

prostate cancer medication Xtandi. Our donor funds enable

us to welcome prospective students on visits, help us recruit,

support our seminar series, and provide for endowed

lectures to bring innovative visitors to campus.

As chair, I am proud to introduce you to all that

makes up the Department of Chemistry &

Biochemistry at UCLA. For almost 100 years, we

have been a department driven by the possibilities of

breaking through boundaries to improve quality of life,

create cutting-edge collaborations, and defy expectations

about who can study science and how they learn.

This publication is a glimpse of the life-changing work

being done within our department, from providing emerging

undergraduate scientists with hands-on research opportu-

nities to connecting our faculty’s scientific discoveries to

commercial fulfillment.

Visions for our department encompass initiatives that offer

students the highest quality faculty, curriculum, facilities,

and research opportunities; support a pipeline that channels

research out of our labs and into the commercial sector

to improve quality of life; and provide outreach to the next

generation of students and the public at large.

A career in science begins with a transformative undergraduate

experience. Our dynamic faculty connect with our youngest

students to hone their curiosity and develop their talents.

Further expanding our educational reach is the Departmental

Teacher-Scholar program, whereby recent graduate students

from institutions across the country are selected for a

competitive residency program that combines educational

instruction and research. For undergraduates, the immediate

connection of being taught by a recent Ph.D. graduate is a

significant inspiration. (“Empowering Undergraduates” on

pages 2 & 3.)

For those thousands of undergrads who begin their

exploration of chemistry with us, we want our labs to be

21000MORE THAN

UNDERGRADS ENROLL IN OUR CLASSES EACH YEAR

7.6

STUDENT EVALUATIONS OF INSTRUCTORS AVERAGE

ON A SCALE OF 9.0

Generous supporters have established six new endowed

chairs that recognize the contributions of some of our

terrifically talented faculty. These chairs allow us to retain

and recruit the very best faculty. (“The Impact of Giving”

on pages 8 & 9.)

We aim to make the science that we do accessible to a

wide audience. Greater understanding, appreciation,

and support begin with giving K-12 students access to

scientific education. Our faculty and students excel in

the kind of off-campus outreach that sparks an interest

that can last a lifetime, cultivating forthcoming genera-

tions of students who then become scientists. (“Making

Science Accessible” on pages 12 & 13.)

One thing that I think is really phenomenal about the

department is the number and the diversity of the under-

graduate majors that we have. This is a hallmark of UCLA.

More than 50% of our undergraduate majors are women,

astonishing for a STEM field. We’re getting a cohort of

students from Hispanic backgrounds, and students who

are the first in their families to attend college. UCLA as

a public institution is doing a great job in this regard, and

we want to make it even better by continuing to make

our teaching accessible so that everyone does well.

Whether you are a curious visitor or a prospective

student, postdoc, or faculty member, we welcome you

to learn more about the remarkable people who make

up our department and are the heart of the life-changing

work being conducted daily in our classrooms and labs. u

Catherine F. Clarke, Professor and Chair,

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

2 PH.D. PROGRAMS:

Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology (BMSB)

Chemistry

CHEMISTRY PH.D. SPECIALIZATIONS:

Analytical/Instrumentation

Biophysics

Chemical Biology

Inorganic

Materials

Organic

Physical

Theory and Computation

8

KEY ROLES IN MULTIPLE CENTERS AND INSTITUTES AT UCLA, INCLUDING:

California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI)

Center for Biological Physics (CBP)

Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCB)

Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC)

Mani L. Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics

UCLA-Department of Energy (DOE) Institute for Genomics and Proteomics (IGP)

Industry Research

Tracking the success of our Chemistry and Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology (BMSB) Ph.D. alumni helps us monitor the success of our graduate programs and stay in touch with our successful alumni. Active Chemistry and BMSB faculty tracked their Ph.D. alumni (1981-2016) N = 736. (Out of 776, 40 were unknown).

Where areour Alumni?

37%

6%

11%

20%

3%1%

12%

3% 7%

Teaching at College/University

Research at University/Government Lab

Academic Research & Teaching

Law/Patent/Financial

Consulting

Postdoctoral Research

Medical/Healthcare Other

“One thing that is really phenomenal

about the department is the number

and the diversity of the undergraduate

majors that we have.“

The UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is the home

of 2018 Robert Foster Cherry Award recipient Prof. Neil Garg,

who received one of the nation’s highest commendations for great

teaching and its $250,000 prize.

2 CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY AT UCLA CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY AT UCLA 3

THE BOYER/CRAM/LIBBY POSTDOCTORAL TEACHER-SCHOLAR PROGRAM

Our Boyer/Cram/Libby Postdoctoral Teacher-Scholars teach undergraduate chemistry or biochemistry courses each academic year while conducting post-doctoral research with a sponsoring faculty member. The positions honor UCLA Chemistry and Biochem-istry Department Nobel Laureates Paul D. Boyer, Donald J. Cram, and Willard F. Libby.

1. Shuming Chen / B.A. in chemistry, Grinnell College; Ph.D. in organic chemistry, Yale University • Research on the elucidation of mechanisms for stereoselective chemical transformations with Prof. Ken Houk.

2. Jacquelin Kammeyer / B.A. in biochemistry, Indiana University; Ph.D. in chemistry, University of California, San Diego • Research on development of protein polymer conjugates for the stabilization of therapeutic proteins with Prof. Heather Maynard.

3. Zhao Li / B.S. in polymer science, Sichuan University; Ph.D. in physical chemistry, UCLA • Research on early cancer detection and targeted therapy by magnetic resonance molecular imaging and nano theranostics with Prof. Yung-Ya Lin.

4. Rachel Prado / B.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry, University of Alabama-Birmingham • Research on conjugating nanodiamonds with different functional groups, peptides and proteins, as well as characteriza-tion of nanodiamond surface chemistry, with Prof. Louis Bouchard.

5. Roshini Ramachandran / B.S. in chemistry, Madras University; master’s in applied chemistry, Anna University; Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens • Research on 2D and 3D hybrid boron-rich polymers with Prof. Alex Spokoyny.

1 2 3 4 5

empowering undergraduates

Not only is summer research experience typically one of the

most meaningful parts of an undergraduate education, it

also enables students to pursue science research rather than

having to accept a summer job in an unrelated field. For many

students, experiencing research in a lab is a real game-changer

– many who previously thought they were headed to pharmacy,

medical, or dental school realize how exciting research is and

begin to consider research as a career. By conducting research

during the summer, students gain skills that help them in their

lab courses, and, as a result, they excel in classes they may

have previously dreaded. They develop a network of friends

and colleagues who can be very helpful when looking for

employment and discovering other opportunities.

HOSTING VISITING UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARS

Each summer, our faculty host visiting undergraduate

scholars from local community colleges and universities

and from colleges from around the world through summer

research programs and international exchange programs.

For eight to ten weeks the students work with UCLA faculty,

graduate students, and postdocs to experience first-hand

the excitement of conducting academic research in Bruin

labs. Their visits culminate with a summer research program

poster session.

In 2015, we began to participate in the University of California

-Historically Black Colleges and Universities (UC-HBCU)

Initiative and since then have hosted more than 16 HBCU

students for summer research. The goal of the visiting

summer researcher programs is to introduce bright under-

graduates to UCLA, give them an opportunity to engage in

ground-breaking science, prepare them for graduate school,

and attract them back for their graduate research.

UCLA CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY UNDERGRAD-UATES MENTORED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

Summer is not the only time that undergraduates conduct

research in faculty labs. On average, we have 100 undergrad-

uates conducting research in our faculty labs throughout

the year. These students are one of our most valuable assets.

After graduating, many are accepted to our Ph.D. programs

so that they can continue their research. u

Each year, thousands of undergraduate students come

through chemistry and biochemistry

classes, making our department one of the most

visited departments on campus with a big impact on

the student experience.

STATE-OF-THE-ART UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH LABORATORIES

One of the department’s key goals is to increase our enroll-

ment capacities so that we can provide a greater opportunity

for students to take challenging classes that are necessary

preparation for their future professional endeavors. Funding

from the UCLA Chancellor’s office helped renovate our two

lower division organic laboratories. 24 new state-of-the-art

glass 360-degree visibility hoods now provide undergraduate

students with a safe, cutting-edge educational experience.

The renovations support innovative new undergraduate

laboratory curricula developed by Profs. Neil Garg and Hosea

Nelson. Graduate students Lucas Morrill (Garg laboratory) and

Alex Bagdasarian (Nelson laboratory) played key roles in de-

signing experiments for the revamped courses. The courses

are being co-taught with and further enhanced by Teacher-

Scholars Dr. Jacquelin Kammeyer and Dr. Shuming Chen.

LIFE-CHANGING SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

Our undergraduate summer research fellowship program

offers UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry undergraduates the

opportunity to carry out research with a chemistry or bio-

chemistry faculty mentor during the summer. These fellow-

ships are made possible thanks to the support of our alumni

and friends. Thanks to increased donor support, 25 of these

students received departmental summer fellowships in 2017.

This was almost double what we have had in previous years.

SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOW SPOTLIGHT

“My summer internship allowed me to distinguish the

difference between being a student and being a sci-

entist,” said Omar Ebrahim, an undergraduate student

studying chemistry and materials science with a focus

in organics, who conducted summer research in Prof.

Heather Maynard’s laboratory. “There is a tremendous

difference between learning from a textbook and ac-

tually struggling with the enigmatic mess that inhabits

the flasks within my chemical fume hood. My research has been difficult to define, but that

struggle has allowed me to truly develop my identity as a researcher, someone who tries

to give definition to something unknown instead of simply memorizing existing definitions.

Without the help of my department and the Raymond & Dorothy Wilson Foundation, I

would still be lost as an intellectual.”

“Mentoring Omar has been fantastic,” said Ebrahim’s mentor graduate student Marco

Messina. “He is a hard-working undergraduate researcher who has his hands in many

different projects, which has enabled him to gain a wide-ranging skill set. His growth as a

researcher in the chemical sciences has been exponential – I am proud to witness this first-

hand. Omar is involved in research at the interface of polymer chemistry, synthetic organic

chemistry, and organometallic chemistry and is developing methods and tools which can

be utilized in a variety of fields. As we are currently preparing a manuscript, Omar even has

his first publication submission to look forward to in the coming months!”

Above: In the newly renovated

undergraduate organic

chemistry laboratory, Prof. Hosea

Nelson (center) demonstrates

the new hood to undergraduate

students Michelle Musso (left)

and Jaha McClean (right).

Left: Biochemistry undergraduate

student Emma Carley (right)

conducts research year-round in

the laboratory of Prof. Margot

Quinlan. She discussed her

research with lab mate graduate

student Aanand Patel.

At a poster session for

visiting summer researchers,

University of California-

Historically Black Colleges

and Universities (UC-HBCU)

scholar Norman Harris II of

Howard University explained

his work in the Houk

laboratory to Prof. Albert

Courey, associate dean for

diversity, equity, and

inclusion in the UCLA

Division of Physical Sciences.

24 new state-of-the-art glass 360-

degree visibility hoods now provide

undergraduate students with a safe,

cutting-edge educational experience.

Above: Raymond and

Dorothy Wilson

Undergraduate Summer

Research Fellow Omar

Ebrahim (left) with

graduate student mentor

Marco Messina (right),

both in Prof. Heather

Maynard’s laboratory.


Long before 2017, when he arrived

at UCLA and was named one of the

year’s SN 10 by Science News, Chong

Liu was inspired by his high school chem-

istry teacher. “He really motivated me. In

addition, he taught me how to play bridge,”

he says with a chuckle.

Liu earned his B.S. in chemistry from Fudan

University in China and a Ph.D. from Univer-

sity of California, Berkeley. While pursuing

the combination of his inorganic training

with nanosystems and microbiology during

a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard, Liu

helped to develop inorganic-bio hybrid

systems that removed carbon dioxide from

the air ten times more efficiently than plants.

At UCLA, Liu is looking forward to collabo-

rating with his UCLA peers across research

boundaries. He is also eager to connect

first-generation college students like

himself with opportunities.

That bridge-playing role model gave Liu

a strong belief in the power of teaching

and the responsibility to reach out to and

educate the public as well as students, “and

not isolate,” he says. “In the end, it’s part of

the reason we do science – to translate our

research into something useful for society.”

https://cliulab.com

Chong Liu“Part of the reason

we do science

[is] to translate

our research into

something useful

for society.”

a new generation

At the crossroads of studying light, developing custom

instruments, and materials chemistry is Justin Caram,

who focuses on how materials absorb or emit light, and

ways that capacity can be used to develop new technologies from

solar cells to imaging inside living tissue.

When Caram interviewed with the department before formally

joining, graduate student Hannah Friedman was excited about his

research. “He gave his pitch and I was like, sold! I didn’t realize how

interested I was in [physical chemistry] until I heard him talk about it.”

Caram received his bachelor’s degree at Harvard and his Ph.D.

from University of Chicago before heading to the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology for a postdoctoral fellowship. Describing

how teaching students is his favorite part of the job, he says,

“I enjoy going over the math and science and all these different

concepts and trying to download everything I know to them.”

Caram calls upon his own background when helping students find

their way. As an undergraduate, he drifted between majors from

humanities to psychology before falling in love with chemistry.

“My goal is to turn them into scientists and give them enough that

they can go out and try to understand what they’re looking at.” u

https://justincaram.me

Justin Caram

José Rodríguez

When José Rodríguez was named a 2017 Searle Scholar

and 2017 Beckman Young Investigator, and awarded

funding for probing molecular structures at the atomic

scale, the Mexican-born son of migrant workers was grateful for yet

another opportunity to give back.

“Coming here and having all these opportunities, one on top of the

other, getting educated, I feel like I owe a ton to this society,” he says.

While pursuing an undergraduate degree, Ph.D., and postdoctoral

fellowship at UCLA, he found himself surrounded by passionate sci-

entists with a clear vision. They provided the motivation and bigger

picture perspective that keeps one going beyond setbacks – exact-

ly what Rodríguez decided he wanted to share when he became a

professor in the Chemistry & Biochemistry department.

His lab works on refining tools with the potential to help cure

neurodegenerative diseases and make research more accessible for

scientists around the world, and his door is always open to students

from all circumstances, whether they have research experience or

not. Rodríguez says that has never stopped anybody. “If a great idea

can come from anywhere, that means anyone is capable of coming

up with great ideas.” u

http://rodriguez.chem.ucla.edu

“My goal is to turn

[students] into

scientists and give

them enough that they

can go out and try to

understand what

they’re looking at.”

of teaching

His door is always open to

students from all circumstances,

whether they have research

experience or not.

Hosea Nelson

Within two years of joining the Chemistry & Biochemistry

faculty in 2015, Hosea Nelson and the graduate students

in his organic chemistry lab had their first publication in

Science. Their breakthrough turns light hydrocarbons like methane

into more complex molecules, which could cheaply turn waste from

oil and gas production into useful, safer end products.

Nelson credits the innovation to his students, whom he calls adventure-

some risk takers, adding, “That’s good for science, in my opinion.”

Chemical & Engineering News named him one of their Talented 12

for his own scientific daring.

The former high school drop-out stumbled across chemistry while

sampling community college classes to discover a vocation. He

worked his way through City College of San Francisco, then transferred

to University of California, Berkeley, for his undergraduate degree.

A Ph.D. followed at California Institute of Technology.

Now, he’s committed to helping his students grow into problem solvers,

both in the sciences and society. The newly-lauded 2018 Sloan Research

Fellow and 2017 Packard Fellow – recognized as one of the nation’s most

innovative early-career scientists and engineers – decided to come to

UCLA because of the broad scope of communities he’s able to reach out

to as an educator.

“I got really lucky,” he says. “I want to get to the point where I

can contribute.”

www.thenelsonlab.com

Chemical &

Engineering News

named Nelson

one of their Talented

12 for his own

scientific daring.

The latest Chemistry &

Biochemistry hires are ready

to inspire and empower the

next generation of scientists.

Biology. Chemistry. Nanoscience. Photo-

physics. Ellen Sletten – John McTague Career

Development Chair in Chemistry & Biochem-

istry and 2018 Sloan Research Fellow – brings it all

together in her lab. Students, too, are drawn from

across disciplines by her work with fluorinated

materials that create better ways for physicians to

identify disease sites so as to eliminate them with

precision while leaving healthy tissue alone.

Sletten, who received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from

the University of California, Berkeley, and was an

NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology, has very intentionally filled

her year-and-a-half old lab with students of all

levels. “My undergraduate research experiences

were critical for my path to graduate school,”

she says. “Without that, I would not be where I

am. It’s natural to want to be able to provide that

experience for others.”

“I really appreciate that Ellen has gone every step

of the way with us since we got to the lab,” says

graduate student Rachael Day. Summer graduate

researcher Shreya Patel added, “There aren’t

many professors who are female, so it helps a lot

because one day I want to be a professor. It’s nice

to have that role model.”

http://sletten.chem.ucla.edu/

Ellen Sletten

“My undergraduate research

experiences were critical ...

[I] want ... to provide that experience for others.”

6 CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY AT UCLA

Dr. Audree Fowler received

her B.S. in chemistry from

UCLA in 1956 and was one

of the first women to receive

a Ph.D. in biochemistry at

UCLA in 1963. Since she

retired as director of the

UCLA Protein Micro-

sequencing Facility, she

has been a loyal supporter

of the department and our

students. “The sciences

gave me a great life”, Fowler

explained. “Now I want to

help others have access

to the same opportunities

I enjoyed.” In 2008, an

endowment from Fowler

established the Audree

Fowler Fellows in Protein

Science for Ph.D. students

in Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology, the

Molecular Biology Interde-

partmental Ph.D. Program,

and Biological Chemistry.

Each year, three recipients

are presented with awards

of $5,000 each and they

present their research at the

Annual Molecular Biology

Institute Retreat.

Alumnus Dr. Rafael Ortiz,

intellectual property manag-

er at Michelman, Inc., helped

establish the Organization

of Cultural Diversity in

Science (OCDS) at UCLA in

2006. OCDS is a graduate

student-run group which

promotes cultural diversity

in the sciences to enrich

the educational experience

of our underrepresented

students and provide them

with networking oppor-

tunities that may impact

their careers. OCDS was the

brainchild of Ortiz and Prof.

Miguel García-Garibay, now

dean of the UCLA Division

of Physical Sciences. Thanks

to Ortiz’s efforts, Proctor

& Gamble, the company

he was working with at the

time, supported OCDS and

helped it become a thriving

organization on campus

providing much needed

support to hundreds of

students. OCDS organizes

community college outreach

events and a lecture series

featuring speakers from

traditionally underrepre-

sented backgrounds across

the sciences – many of

whom are were members

of OCDS during their time

at UCLA.

In 2016, alumna Dr. Elinne

Becket, a scientist with Zymo

Research Corporation,

arranged for her company

to sponsor the Zymo

Research Fellowship for

undergraduate biochemistry

major Cyrus Y. Jin which

made it possible for Jin to

conduct research in the lab

of Prof. Steven Clarke. Jin

graduated in June 2017, and

he joined the Biological

and Biomedical Sciences

(BBS) Ph.D. program at the

Harvard Medical School in

August of 2017.

ALUMNI MAKING A DIFFERENCEalumni give back

afternoon seminars, Biochemistry, Molecular and

Structural Biology (BMSB) alumni return to UCLA to give

a seminar about their career paths, followed by a Q&A

and reception. These seminars are open to the public, so

anyone may drop in to hear about the experience of a

working biochemistry professional.

Many of our alumni work in industry, such as those at

Amgen, and arrange research internships for our students.

These internships oftentimes lead to career opportunities

for our students once they graduate. Our alumni have

also arranged for their companies to sponsor lecture

series and summer fellowships for our undergraduate

students. Thanks to their continued relationship with the

department, many of our alumni hire our graduates to

work for their organizations. u

From top, left to right: Dr. Christina Baker, Global Materials

Technology Manager, PPG Aerospace; Dr. Gavin Jones,

Research Staff member, IBM Research-Almaden; Blanca

Moreno, Chemistry Lead Lab Technician, Santa Monica

College; Dr. Nohjin Park, Medical Science Liaison, Sirtex

Medical Limited; Dr. Tanya Kruse, Head of Manufacturing

Sciences-Fractionation, Shire; Dr. Elinne Becket, Scientist,

Zymo Research Corporation.

A positive student experience at UCLA results in

alumni who are passionate about giving back.

Each quarter, UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry alumni

support our students and share one of their most valuable

assets – their time.

Since 2015, the Careers in Chemistry & Biochemistry (Chem

147) course for undergraduate students has brought more than

50 alumni – including an astronaut, a patent lawyer, a craft

beer brewer, and many teachers and research scientists – back

to UCLA to share candid revelations about what they would

have done differently and what values result in success. Alumni

love returning to interact with our students and to share their

wisdom! In fact, these interactions have turned into even more

opportunities for students when our alumni work with their

employers to sponsor research fellowships, or when soon-to-

be graduates are recruited for positions at a company by the

UCLA alumni who work there.

The seminars are followed by a Q&A and a reception

where students gain experience networking with the

speakers, faculty, and fellow students – a skill essential for

professional development.

A similar series geared towards biochemistry Ph.D.

students and hosted by the Graduate Biochemistry Student

Association (gBSA) debuted in 2017. At these summer

From top, left to right: Dr. Bruce Morimoto, Vice President, Scientific

Affairs, Celerion; Dr. Sehat Nauli, Professor, Physical Sciences

Department, Santa Monica College; Dr. Anna Lee Fisher, former

NASA astronaut who flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on

mission STS-51A; Lindsay Keever, Associate Director, Alliance

and Contracts Management, Calico Life Sciences; Dr. Tracy Blois,

Director of Alliance Management, Amgen; Dr. Rusty Blanski, Senior

Research Chemist, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory; Dr. Mel

Sahyun, Editor, Journal of Imaging Science and Technology; Cynthia

Ma, Chemistry and Physics Teacher, Green Dot Public Schools;

Alexis Lieberman, Account Sales Executive, Spectrum Chemical

Manufacturing Corporation; Dr. Tanya Petrossian, CEO of Endo-

Cyclic Therapeutics, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Entrepreneur

in Residence (EIR), Principal at Building Blocks Advisory Group;

Dr. Gary Fujii, Board of Directors, Southern California Biomedical

Council and President/CEO Molecular GPS Technologies; Kevin

Ogilby, co-owner Progress Brewing, South El Monte; Dr. Marisa

Joubert, Principal Scientist/Group Leader, Amgen.

@For a complete list

of all the Careers

in Chemistry

and Biochem-

istry speakers,

please visit www.

chem.ucla.edu/

Chem147/.

Each quarter,

UCLA Chemistry

& Biochemistry

alumni support

our students

and share one

of their most

valuable assets

– their time.

Left: Fowler (center) with

the 2016 Audree Fowler

Fellows in Protein Science,

then biochemistry graduate

students Dr. Brendan Amer

(Ph.D. ’17, Clubb group)

and Dr. Jeff Vinokur

(Ph.D. ’17, Bowie group).

Middle: Dr. Rafael Ortiz;

Right: Prof. Steven Clarke

(left) with Cyrus Y. Jin (right).



the impactof giving


NEW ENDOWED CHAIRS

Generous supporters have established six new endowed chairs that recognize the

contributions of some of our terrifically talented faculty. These chairs allow us to retain

and recruit the very best faculty to teach and mentor our students.

Dr. Myung Ki Hong Endowed Chairs Founder and President of

Dura Coat Products, Inc. and 2015 Alumni Award recipient, Dr. Hong

established the Dr. Myung Ki Hong Endowed Chair in Materials

Innovation and the Dr. Myung Ki Hong Endowed Chair in Polymer

Science. His gift will help UCLA for years to come by supporting

teaching and innovative research activities.

Michael and Alice Jung Endowed Chair in Medicinal Chemistry

and Drug Discovery Prof. Michael Jung and his wife Alice

established the endowed chair to support a faculty member who is

conducting research to produce new, life-saving drugs. Prof. Jung

was part of the team that developed the drug Xtandi which has

proved effective for treating late-stage prostate cancer.

John D. and Edith M. Roberts Endowed Term Chair in Chemistry

The endowed chair was established in 2017 in memory of Prof. John

“Jack” D. Roberts and his wife Edith by his family, friends, and

faculty. Prof. Roberts was an exemplary alumnus of the department

and a renowned chemist. The chair will support a faculty member in

organic chemistry and future lectures.

Kenneth N. Trueblood Chair for Excellence in Research and

Teaching The endowed chair was established in 2017 by the estate

of Prof. Kenneth Trueblood and his wife Jean. Prof. Trueblood was

a leading scientist and teacher at UCLA for whom the Kenneth

Trueblood lecture hall is named, and his wife Jean was an active

member of the UCLA community for decades.

Jeffrey and Helo Zink Endowed Professional Development Term

Chair in Chemistry Established with a gift from Prof. Jeff Zink and

his wife Helo, this term chair will foster young faculty starting their

careers at UCLA and help the department recruit and retain the best

faculty for years to come.

New avenues of giving have been established to fund

teaching and research awards by which we recognize

the excellence of our faculty and students. They include

the Daniel E. Atkinson & Charles A. West Prizes in Metabolic

Biochemistry. These awards are named in honor of the

two UCLA chemistry faculty members who were largely

responsible for the development of biochemistry within

the department: Prof. Daniel Atkinson and Prof. Charles A.

West. The Atkinson West Prizes award excellence among

undergraduate and graduate students. This fund also

supports summer research fellowships in departmental

chemistry and biochemistry faculty labs for undergraduate

and graduate students.

How do gifts from our alumni

and friends sustain the pulse of

our thriving department?

THE DANIEL E. ATKINSON & CHARLES A. WEST PRIZES IN METABOLIC BIOCHEMISTRY

They translate into resources that help us serve our students and

community. They allow us to welcome prospective students at

recruitment weekends. They support our recruitment efforts for faculty, stu-

dents, and postdocs. They inspire young scientists with fellowships that make under-

graduate summer research possible. These gifts from our generous alumni and friends

also enable us to recruit top scientists to our seminar series and endowed lectures and

to create prestigious endowed chairs.

Susan BaumgartenMani L. BhaumikRavi and Aparna BikkinaEstate of Todd BlumenkopfRobert C. and Mae R. CarterMary Ellen FriedmanAtsuko and Akira FujimotoRobin L. GarrellWilliam and Nina GelbartAgi Hirshberg Myung and Lorrie HongKendall N. HoukMichael E. and Alice M. Jung

Jack and Leslie N. KavanaughCharles and Carolyn KnoblerFrank B. and Clelia W. MalloryBruce H. and Joy K. MorimotoPhyllis ParvinEmil and Hanna ReislerThe Family of John D. and Edith M. RobertsRalph and Shirley ShapiroKaren and William TimberlakeEstate of Lorraine H. and Masuo TojiJim and Barbara TsayEstate of Jean T. and Kenneth N. TruebloodGeorge M. and Barbara Whitesides

Raymond A. and Dorothy A. WilsonDongwon YooJeffrey and Helo Zink

*As of print date. Visit www.chemistry.ucla.edu/ our-donors for the most up-to-date list of donors.

For more information about

The Centennial Campaign for UCLA

visit www.lettherebe.ucla.edu/.

DONORS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY WHO HAVE GIVEN $25K+ SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE UCLA CENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN*

THE MANI L. BHAUMIK CENTENNIAL COLLABORATORY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY

The new Mani L. Bhaumik Chemistry & Biochemistry Centennial Collaboratory is

made possible by a generous gift from former UCLA postdoctoral fellow, physicist,

and bestselling author Dr. Mani L. Bhaumik and will be the heart of student life in the

department, providing students and faculty with a much-needed lecture hall, private meeting

and tutoring rooms, and a fully-equipped study lounge. The Collabo-

ratory will be located on the fourth floor of Young Hall (previously the

department library) where 6,500 square feet of open space is being

renovated to enhance the UCLA experience for thousands of young

Bruins who rely on courses provided by the department.

We are thrilled to announce that contributions have already been made to this

new space from the following generous donors:

Dongwon Yoo

Jim and Barbara Tsay

Atsuko and Akira Fujimoto

Raymond and Dorothy Wilson

Karen and William Timberlake

The Collaboratory is a big endeavor requiring much support and we welcome your help.

For more information about how you can be a part of this critical new space, including

naming opportunities and recognition on the donor wall, please contact the Chair’s office at

(310) 825-3958, [email protected]. u

The Collaboratory will

be the heart of student life

in the department...

Above: (from left) Recipients of the 2017 Daniel E. Atkinson and

Charles A. West Biochemistry Undergraduate Prizes in Metabolic

Biochemistry, Nguyen Pham ‘17 and Jason Gosschalk M.S. ’17, with

Department Chair Prof. Catherine Clarke, and fund supporters Joy

Morimoto and Dr. Bruce Morimoto.

MATCHING FUNDS

The Department is matching all endowments

of $100,000 or more on a one-to-one basis,

while funds last, ensuring even greater support

for generations of students and educators. Join

us in this investment by contacting the Chair’s

office at (310) 825-3958, [email protected].


commercializinginnovation

Prof. Richard Kaner’s work is addressing one of the world’s most critical

needs: clean water. He developed a membrane, PolyCera®, that is

capable of cleaning the dirtiest waters, whether for industrial reuse

or household drinking. With the separation properties of an expensive

ceramic membrane and the low-cost and scalability of a polymer

membrane, PolyCera® is hydrophilic and resists fouling unlike all other

commercial membranes.

Kaner, who is the Dr. Myung Ki Hong Endowed Chair in Materials

Innovation, co-founded PolyCera®, Inc. and sold it to Water Planet Inc.,

which uses PolyCera® membranes in installations all over the world.

From oilfields in California and Texas, to household water filters in India

and automotive manufacturing operations in China, PolyCera® cleans up

wastewater for clean drinking, safe environmental discharge and direct

recycling. PolyCera® membranes work wherever oil and water meet,

including machine shops and contaminated water from oil fracking.

PolyCera®’s easy-to-clean ultrafiltration membranes are five to ten times

less expensive than ceramic membranes and can treat waters that are

impossible for commercial polymer membranes. It’s a truly affordable

and accessible game changer.

After many years of carrying out basic research into new materials, Kaner

is encouraged by the end result. “It’s exhilarating to work with talented

students on converting our basic research on new materials into products

that improve everyone’s quality of life,” he says. u

Richard Kaner

Heather Maynard

The demand for better batteries is huge, and a

technology developed by Prof. Sarah Tolbert

is delivering exciting improvements on these power

sources we use in so many ways every single day.

Tolbert and Prof. Bruce Dunn of UCLA’s Department of Materials Science and

Engineering have developed nanostructured pseudocapacitors – materials

that combine battery – and capacitor-like properties in a single technology.

In what Tolbert refers to as “battery Swiss cheese”, hole-ridden nanomaterials

are filled with a liquid electrolyte containing lithium ions. Because the lithium

containing liquid fills the holes, it does not have to move as far within the

battery material itself. That motion of lithium in the solid battery material is

one of the key sluggish steps that makes conventional batteries charge slowly.

In short, this technology allows the batteries we all know now to charge in a

fraction of the time, but unlike traditional supercapacitors, they have similar

capacity to standard batteries – meaning you could potentially recharge your

dead cell phone in a matter of minutes, rather than hours.

“When assembled into an energy storage device, these materials would

enable consumer electronics devices to be charged in just a few minutes,”

Tolbert explains.

There’s no arguing that everyone appreciates batteries that charge quickly –

and the faster they are, the more uses people can find for them.

“One of the most obvious applications is electric vehicles,” Tolbert says. “If

you could charge the battery in the same amount of time that you fill it with

gasoline, then everybody could have an electric vehicle and you wouldn’t be

dependent on having a charging station in your house, or having a house.”

After a decade of refining these materials, Tolbert and Dunn recently helped

start a company called Battery Streak. The team is making prototypes for

potential commercial application and scale up, while also working to further

push the charging time down and to increase the power capacity (which can

sometimes be lost when charging time speeds up). Batteries for cell phones,

hearing aids, power tools, and of course electric cars may end up being posi-

tively affected by this exciting technology. u

[PolyProtek] is cheap

and easy to scale up

into the tons

required for feeding

commercial livestock.

Innovative solutions towards food production are needed to

support the growing world population. In particular, animal feed

enzymes are critical components that enable efficient livestock

production. However, these enzymes are often inactivated when

subjected to the high temperatures of feed pelleting processes.

It’s an issue for which Prof. Heather Maynard, Dr. Myung Ki Hong

Endowed Chair in Polymer Science, has an innovative solution.

Maynard and her group have shown that trehalose-based polymers

and hydrogels stabilize various proteins and enzymes to heat stress.

“We found that the three main animal feed enzymes used in farm

animal nutrition are stabilized by our trehalose hydrogel to the high

temperatures required to make the animal feed,” she says. “This,

combined with the efficient and scalable synthesis of the trehalose

hydrogel, makes the technology promising for enhancing food

production in the livestock industry.”

Stabilization means that livestock more easily breaks down feed. These

animals are traditionally fed slop that contains elements that their

digestive systems can’t break down. One solution has been to add

enzymes to kibble, which is also fed to the animals; these enzymes can

help break down those products for greater nutritional value. The

problem with that approach is that heat is required to make the kibble

and ensure it is free of pathogens like dangerous bacteria, and that

heat degrades the enzymes, making them virtually useless.

Maynard’s class of products, called PolyProtek, addresses this need for

stabilization in animal feed in a new way. It is cheap and easy to scale up

into the tons required for feeding commercial livestock.

More potential is out there for application of Maynard’s product. For

example, it might be able to increase water retention in soil during

drought conditions for crop production. The group’s demonstrated

stabilization of the important protein therapeutics insulin and glucagon

may help diabetics regulate glucose levels, and even more medical

applications are being tested. u

Xtandi has extended

the lives of

thousands of men ...

…addressing one

of the world’s most

critical needs:

clean water

From improving the way we live to saving lives, research by our

Chemistry & Biochemistry faculty comes out of labs and makes the

world a better place.

UCLA offers avenues for researchers to channel their ideas into practical

application. Powerful resources like the Division of Physical Sciences Entre-

preneurship and Innovation Fund support and encourage faculty as they

take their work out of their labs and to commercial partners who can drive

those scientific innovations to the marketplace – and, ultimately, all of us.

Sarah Tolbert

Prof. Michael Jung describes the moment he

knew they had the chemical compound he helped

develop to treat prostate cancer.

“It was supposed to be a four-year clinical trial, but [the

FDA] stopped it after two because the drug was so

good,” says the distinguished professor of chemistry.

“When we heard [the news], I was at the airport in Boston

and Charles Sawyers was in New York. We called each other

on our cell phones, shouting with joy.”

Where other treatments have failed, Xtandi has extended the lives of

thousands of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Jung worked with Drs. Sawyers and Howard Scher of the Memorial Sloan

Kettering Cancer Center to develop the anti-androgen drug enzalutamide

(Xtandi), which received FDA approval in August 2012. The oral medication

inhibits the binding of androgens to the androgen receptor, the engine

of prostate cancer progression. Recently, Xtandi was shown to delay the

occurrence of metastases in earlier stage CRPC.

The first person treated with Xtandi in 2007 had been given only a few

months to live. He is still alive today.

UCLA sold a portion of its future Xtandi royalties to fund more research

programs that could result in similar discoveries. These funds also support

undergraduate scholarships and graduate study fellowships.

An experimental chemist, Jung knows that dogged persistence as well as luck

is needed to succeed in drug discovery. “You can work in the pharmaceutical

industry for 40 years and not get a drug on the market because it’s really hard.

There are so many things that can go wrong,” he says.

But sometimes they can go very right. A few years ago, Jung was in the

UCLA Faculty Center having lunch. A woman walked up to him and said,

“You’re Michael Jung. You’re the inventor of Xtandi!” She then hugged him.

Her husband was alive because of the drug. u

Editor’s Note: A second drug from Mike Jung’s lab, apalutamide or Erleada, was

approved by the FDA for nonmetastatic CRPC in February 2018. There will be more

about this excellent treatment for prostate cancer in our next edition.

Michael Jung

...you could potentially

recharge your dead cell

phone in a matter of

minutes, rather than hours.


making scienceaccessible


Fueled by their own love of science, our faculty and

students bring chemistry and biochemistry out of the

lab and into the community. By visiting local schools and

organizations to give hands-on demonstrations of simple and

fun experiments, our faculty and students give young people

the opportunity to observe what we do first hand. This

community engagement opens a new world of possibilities to

curious minds and may lead some to pursue a career in science.

Many of our department’s faculty and students participate in

the Nanoscience Outreach Program, which Prof. Sarah Tolbert

has led for the past 15 years. They visit local schools and train

teachers how to conduct nanoscience experiments in their

classrooms, providing them with all the supplies needed to

perform the experiments. Each year new experiments are

developed by a dedicated team of graduate student and

postdoctoral volunteers in collaboration with Tolbert. These

same students run the teacher workshops. With hundreds of

teachers having completed this training, thousands of school

children each year are positively impacted by this outreach.

For more than 10 years, Prof. Carla Koehler and members of

her group have led an annual, week-long course in zebrafish

biology for second graders at Ivanhoe Elementary School.

The young scientists use stereomicroscopes to visualize brine

shrimp and developing embryos; they note the various organs

in the fish and enjoy watching the hearts beat and blood

flow. The students help set up matings during the week and

watch the embryos develop, noting the different stages. Like

real scientists, the students record their observations and

participate in a discussion about using model organisms to

understand human disease. The initiative shows how children

can become engaged through the experimental and observa-

tional process in science, regardless of academic level.

Reaching underserved communities is the goal of much of the

community engagement done by our faculty and students.

Our faculty and students take

great pride in sharing their love

of science with the community.

Prof. Alex Spokoyny is a faculty team member of the UCLA

Prison Education Program which focuses on improving

literacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics

among Southern California prison inmates.

Prof. Heather Maynard and her students regularly bring the

“Maynard Lab Traveling Science Road Show” to a local family

crisis center to demonstrate fun science experiments. They

also visit local Brownie and Girl Scout troops, while Prof. Ben

Schwartz works with local Boy Scouts to create activities that

help them earn their Chemistry Merit Badges.

Prof. Richard Kaner and his lab members visit local

elementary and high schools to give hands-on lectures about

polymers, semiconductors, and metals. Prof. Patrick Harran

teaches an introductory general chemistry course for

disadvantaged Los Angeles inner city students.

In addition, our faculty and students volunteer at the annual

Univision Feria de Educación, an event held at various

California State University campuses, which provides educa-

tional and college preparatory services, learning opportuni-

ties, and fun-filled family activities for the Latino community.

Many of the students and their families at the fair are from

underserved communities, especially in the areas of science,

technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

Some of our outreach has gone global. An on-line tutorial,

BACON, created by Prof. Neil Garg and graduate student

volunteers, provides students and teachers from around

the world access to a free method of learning organic

chemistry which has consistently proven to increase test

scores. Instructor Dr. Laurence Lavelle developed and

maintains a free, widely used online chemistry community

which contains files, images, and videos.

Much of the department’s community outreach is done by

graduate and undergraduate students from our various student

organizations, including the Alpha Chi Sigma (AXE) fraternity,

the Biochemistry Association for Student Enrichment (Bio-

chemASE), the Chemistry & Biochemistry Graduate Student

Association (CBGSA), the Organization for Cultural Diversity

in Science (OCDS), and the Student Members of the American

Chemical Society (SMACS).

For example, each year SMACS and OCDS students volunteer

at a Science Slam at Warner Avenue Elementary School. The

students demonstrate experiments such as “floating candy

letters” (M&Ms in water) and “elephant’s toothpaste” (break-

down of hydrogen peroxide by potassium iodide) and talk to

the children about the science involved in the experiments.

The children are also given the opportunity to show off their

chemistry knowledge to win prizes. On average, more than 700

children and their parents attend the Science Slams each year!

Many of our student groups host on-campus tours for local

school children and community college students, giving them

the opportunity to observe first-hand experiments in the lab

and hear about the life of a UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry

graduate student through panel discussions. These dedicated

students also volunteer with the UCLA Advancing Women in

Science and Engineering (AWiSE) events at local elementary

and middle schools.

And finally, our department enthusiastically participates in

one of UCLA’s largest on-campus events of the year: Exploring

Your Universe, which brings thousands of children and parents

to campus to learn about the wonders of science through

demonstrations, exhibits, and hands-on activities.

These are just examples of the broad range of activities that

our students and faculty offer to the community. Visit www.

chem.ucla.edu/outreach/ to learn more. u

At a local elementary school, graduate

students demonstrate how to

make “elephant toothpaste”, a foamy

substance created by the rapid

decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.

Two of many “thank you” notes sent

from 2nd graders to Prof. Carla Koehler

after her week-long course in zebrafish

biology at Ivanhoe Elementary School. COLORING CHEMISTRY

Children are also learning to love science thanks to outreach by our faculty and

students. Prof. Neil Garg and his two young daughters created an organic chemistry

coloring book showcasing the chemicals in common household items and foods.

Garg has donated hundreds of copies to the UCLA daycare center and Warner Avenue

Elementary School. The book is also available on Amazon and Amazon Europe. In the

photo above, children at the UCLA daycare center color large printouts of the book,

which has children follow Cheesy the Mouse on an exploration of the chemistry that

makes up our lives.

AREAS OF RESEARCH:

Analytical Chemistry

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Bioenergy and the Environment

Biophysics

Chemical Biology

Inorganic Chemistry

Materials and Nanoscience

Metabolism, Aging and Development

Organic Chemistry

Physical Chemistry

Structural and Computational Biology

Systems Biology and Biological Regulation

Theory and Computational Chemistry

607 Charles E. Young Drive EastLos Angeles, CA 90095-1569Tel: 310.825.3958www.chemistry.ucla.edu

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