Research Forward, formerly known as the UW2020: WARF Discovery Initiative, will fund 11 projects across campus for up to two years. The new initiative is supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). One project funded, …
Research News
NSF award to establish network for advanced NMR across three institutions
The University of Wisconsin–Madison will join a first-of-its-kind collaborative network for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which researchers use to probe large biological molecules like proteins and RNA.
Today, the National Science Foundation announced a $40 million award to establish the Network for Advanced NMR (NAN) linking three institutions: UConn School of Medicine, the University of Georgia and UW–Madison’s National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison.
New chemistry makes ‘magic’ drug improvements easier
In the last decade, scientists discovered a quirk of drug chemistry: If you add on a simple one-carbon building block to a drug, it can make the drug more potent, less toxic, or more stable.
New nondestructive optical technique reveals the structure of mother-of-pearl
Most people know mother-of-pearl, an iridescent biomineral also called nacre, from buttons, jewelry, instrument inlays and other decorative flourishes. Scientists, too, have admired and marveled at nacre for decades, not only for its beauty and optical properties but because of its exceptional toughness.
New method targets disease-causing proteins for destruction
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a way to use a cell’s own recycling machinery to destroy disease-causing proteins, a technology that could produce entirely new kinds of drugs.
Cavagnero group develops novel optically-enhanced NMR technology
By Hanming Yang Graduate Student (Cavagnero Group) A recent cover article from the Cavagnero research team has appeared in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance. The Cavagnero group developed a novel optically-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology known as …
Collaboration helps UW-Madison Chemists quickly evaluate technologies to clean the air
Individuals and businesses are scrambling to find new ways to protect themselves from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. With this interest, the effectiveness of new technologies that promise to improve indoor air quality has taken center stage. University of Wisconsin–Madison chemists have accepted the challenge of evaluating those technologies and the work is moving quickly, thanks to the lab’s partnership with HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) specialists at Johnson Controls.
Measuring the pancreas’s protein landscape assists diabetes and cancer research
The pancreas is one of the most important organs in the body. It produces insulin to regulate blood sugar and helps digest food. If the pancreas goes haywire, diabetes, cancer, or other diseases threaten lives.
Gellman and Smith present research on COVID-19 at Chemistry Conversations event
On Wednesday morning, more than 60 members of the Chemistry Department joined a zoom meeting to participate in the first Chemistry Conversation of the year. The event, organized by the Faculty and Staff Wellness and Professional Development Committee, included presentations from Professors Sam Gellman and Lloyd Smith about their work on COVID-19 research.
Prof. Susanna Widicus Weaver brings a love of chemistry and expertise in astronomy
Vozza Professor of Chemistry Susanna Widicus Weaver arrived at UW–Madison in May to conduct research in prebiotic astrochemistry and on how life may form with the evolution of stars and planets. Weaver received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Illinois Wesleyan University (2000) and her Ph.D. in chemistry at California Institute of Technology (2005). She most recently was a professor of chemistry at Emory University.