The Robert A. Welch Foundation

In a Welch Foundation supported study, Principal investigators Naomi Halas and Peter Nordlander of Rice University along with collaborators at Baylor College of Medicine have demonstrated a new method for detecting the presence of dangerous chemicals from tobacco smoke in human placenta with unprecedented speed and precision. https://lnkd.in/gBTrcdPE

“The school has such limited resources, the only items in the ‘lab’ were some dusty beakers and old glassware,” recalled Dr. Yalan Ning at Huston-Tillotson University, a Welch Departmental Grant recipient. “Support from The Welch Foundation was absolutely essential in helping me create the opportunity for our students to do research on campus.” Read more about Huston-Tillotson University’s Departmental Grant:

In a Welch Foundation supported study, Principal Investigator Yimo Han and researchers at Rice University report that Monolayer Amorphous Carbon (MAC), a material recently synthesized at the National University of Singapore, is eight times tougher than graphene.

In a Welch Foundation supported study, Principal Investigator Xiaochen Bai and researchers at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center highlight recent structural and functional insights into the activation of insulin–IGF receptors, and summarize new agonists and antagonists developed for intervening in the activation of insulin–IGF receptor signaling. Additionally, the review discusses recently identified regulatory mechanisms beyond ligand–receptor interactions and functions of insulin–IGF receptor signalling in diseases. https://buff.ly/43aPkFU

During her time at Yale University, Melanie Sanford kept extremely busy, not only studying and researching, but training gymnastics daily and competing on weekends all over the country.

If last week’s feature about Melanie Sanford left you wanting to know more about the inspirational organometallic researcher, sign up for our webinar on 16 April! You can even submit questions for the live Q&A to chemistryworld(@)rsc(.)org

Principal Investigator Jean X. Jiang pioneered the modulation of hemichannel activation using targeting antibodies. Her team at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio discovered two targeting antibodies: one to open the hemichannels and another to block. While other teams have been able to block hemichannels, Dr. Jiang’s team was the first to activate and open the hemichannel. “The Welch Foundation grant helps us tremendously because Welch is willing to invest in projects that could be high risk but also have the potential for very high impact, projects that would not be funded by traditional grants. One of the ways we mediate this risk is by switching approaches. Welch is terrific because they allow us to have this kind of flexibility.” Read more about Dr. Jiang and her team’s work here:

In a Welch Foundation supported study, Principal Investigator Hans Renata and researchers at Rice University accomplish a total synthesis of lycoposerramine congeners through the use of nitrogen deletion strategy to combine two fully elaborated piperidine and tetrahydroquinoline fragments.

The Welch Foundation congratulates Southern Methodist University on earning the prestigious Carnegie R1 classification. This designation is a reflection of its commitment to cutting-edge research, innovation and academic excellence. We look forward to seeing the groundbreaking advancements that will come from this achievement. https://lnkd.in/gCtSHzcd

In a Welch Foundation supported study, Endowed Chair Jason McLellan and researchers at The University of Texas at Austin demonstrated that GP38 induces endothelial barrier dysfunction in vitro by disrupting the endothelial glycocalyx layer and triggering hyperpermeability, while also demonstrating that GP38 alone can cause vascular leak in a mouse model.