A team of UCLA researchers, led by Professor Keriann Backus and postdoctoral teacher-scholar Dr. Chau Ngo, has developed a new technology that makes light-activated protein labeling more precise and reliable. Backus is an Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry in the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in the UCLA Department of […]

Professor Ryan A. Shenvi (The Scripps Research Institute), widely recognized for his work in natural product synthesis and the development of new methods to access complex, biologically active molecules, presented the 2026 John D and Edith M Roberts Lecture at UCLA on April 16.   In his talk titled “Attempts to Deliver on the Promise of […]

On March 13, 2026, the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry honored Professor Richard Kaner (UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry) with the 2026 Glenn T. Seaborg Medal in recognition of his seminal contributions to the field. A symposium entitled “Materials for a Better World,” a poster session, and an evening medal dinner were held in […]

Researchers led by Professor Philippe Sautet have mapped out a promising method to improve the conversion of propane gas into propene, the world’s second most widely produced plastic precursor, after ethylene. Sautet holds faculty appointments in both the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and in the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. From UCLA Samueli […]

Last year, the UCLA Molecular Instrumentation Center (MIC) in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry opened its newest lab, the High-Throughput Synthesis and Catalysis Facility (HTSC), and began working with research groups interested in incorporating automated high-throughput experimentation (HTE) into their projects. HTE has garnered increasing attention over the past few decades for its ability […]

Professor Heather Maynard, UCLA’s Dr. Myung Ki Hong Professor in Polymer Science and associate director of the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UCLA, has been awarded the 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship. The new fellows are part of the 101st class of 223 awarded scholars, scientists and creative professionals from the U.S. and Canada chosen from a […]

Professor Anne Andrews is featured in a recent UCLA Newsroom article discussing how an unexpected career path led her to pioneer wearable technology that measures hormones and brain chemicals, culminating in the founding of FemSync to enable personalized, real-time health monitoring. From UCLA Newsroom (by Wayne Lewis): How a series of ‘left turns’ led to […]

Professor David Eisenberg has been awarded the 2026 Gregori Aminoff Prize in Crystallography by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, “for his discoveries of amyloid fibril structures of relevance for the field of amyloid structural biology and neurodegenerative diseases.” Eisenberg, a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA, is known for his pioneering research […]