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Distinguished Speaker Series featuring Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Morten Meldal
April 2 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science invites the community to the Distinguished Speaker Series featuring Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Morten Meldal.
Dr. Morten Meldal is a Danish Chemist and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
An internationally-recognized leader in the field of chemical engineering, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022, alongside colleagues Barry Sharpless and Carolyn Bartozzi, for the ground-breaking development of “click chemistry” and “biorthogonal chemistry”.
The methods they developed are now used globally in pharmaceutical development, DNA mapping, and in the creation of new materials for industries like healthcare.
About the talk
Many of us rely on prescription medication to manage our health—but how often do we think about the science behind the drug?
Chemists work to understand and control complicated chemical processes to advance knowledge in fields like healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
In 2022, Dr. Morten Meldal was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his part in developing a process that turns chemicals into parts that click together like LEGO®. The process has been used to create and screen millions of complex chemicals to identify those most suitable for drug development.
In his talk, Dr. Meldal will discuss how this LEGO®-like process is opening new doors in the treatment of infectious and metabolic illnesses like cancer, obesity, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and how this process is being used to generate new antibiotics to combat ever-changing superbugs commonly found in hospitals.
Finally, he’ll share his inspiring journey to becoming a Nobel Laureate, the importance of serendipity in research, and give his thoughts on how investing in science education today can lead to sounder policy and a better-informed society tomorrow.
