Chemical Biology Seminars (CH-629)

With: Dr. Rebecca Ruck Dr. Rebecca T. Ruck joined Merck Research Laboratories, Process Research & Development in 2005 and is currently Executive Director of Enabling Technologies, PR&D in Rahway, NJ. Her team is tasked with leveraging its expertise in areas such as Catalysis, Biotechnology and Flow Chemistry to enable processes for APIs in the MSD pipeline and developing new capabilities that will allow us to continue to do so into the future. Becky previously served as Director of three different teams: Process Chemistry, Catalysis & Automation and Discovery Process Chemistry. Over the course of her career, Becky and her team have impacted projects across a range of therapeutic areas, including beta-lactamase inhibitors, hepatitis C and diabetes.   Becky earned her A.B. summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1998. She received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2003, where she was an NSF Fellow in the research group of Professor Eric Jacobsen. Following graduate studies, Becky served as an NIH post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Robert Bergman at the University of California, Berkeley. She has a real passion for driving Women in Chemistry activities and was named the 2018 winner of the ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences.  
Place and room: BCH 2201
Category: Conferences – Seminars

With: Prof. Devaraj Neal K. Devaraj is a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. A major research thrust of his lab involves understanding how non-living matter, such as simple organic molecules, can assemble to form life. Along these lines, he has developed approaches for the in-situ synthesis of synthetic cell membranes by using selective reactions to “stitch” together lipid fragments. His lab’s work has enabled the first demonstration of perpetually self-reproducing lipid vesicles and artificial membranes that can dynamically remodel their chemical structure. Recently, his lab has demonstrated that in situ synthesis can assemble lipid species within living cells, enabling studies that decipher how lipid structure affects cellular function. Prof. Devaraj joined the faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego in 2011. His work has been recognized by the 2016 National Fresenius Award, the 2017 American Chemical Society Award in Pure Chemistry, being selected as the 2018 Blavatnik National Laureate in Chemistry, a 2019 Guggeheim Fellowship and the 2019 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry. In recognition of his contributions to teaching, Dr. Devaraj was named a 2016 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar.
Place and room: BCH 2201
Category: Conferences – Seminars