Information & Nominations

The Division of Biological Chemistry administers several awards and provides financial assistance for our members in the early stages of their career to attend these meetings.

Division of Biological Chemistry Awards

Nominations are requested for the 2014 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, and the Repligen Corporation Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes.

Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry

Nominees shall have accomplished outstanding research in biological chemistry of unusual merit and independence of thought and originality. Nominee shall not have passed the 38th birthday by April 30, 2014, and shall be actively engaged in the line of research for which the award is made. This prize cannot be made to a person who received another award sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company for the same technical accomplishment.

Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry

Nominees shall have accomplished outstanding work in enzyme chemistry where the presence of enzyme action is unequivocally demonstrated. The nominee shall be engaged in noncommercial work and shall not have passed the 40th birthday by April 30, 2014. This prize cannot be made to a person who received another award sponsored by Pfizer, Inc., for the same technical accomplishment.

Repligen Corporation Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes

Nominees shall have made outstanding contributions to the understanding of the chemistry of biological processes with particular emphasis on structure, function and mechanism. There are no restrictions on age or membership affiliation for the Repligen Award.

Submission of Formal Nominations: If you know of a deserving candidate for the Lilly, Pfizer or Repligen awards, please submit the candidate’s curriculum vitae with a list of publications and a letter explaining his/her special achievements (as a PDF) to our nominations committee through DBC Secretary, Nigel Richards, at the address given below. Additional letters of support for the candidate are desirable.

Deadline: June 15, 2013

All materials should be sent to:
Nigel Richards
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
402 N. Blackford St., LD 326
Indianapolis, IN 46202
ngrichar@iupui.edu

ACS Lectureships


The Gordon Hammes ACS Biochemistry Lectureship


Nominations are requested for the “Gordon Hammes ACS Biochemistry Lectureship”, which will be presented during the Fall ACS National Meeting.

The Editor-in-Chief of Biochemistry and the Division of Biological Chemistry of the American Chemical Society administer this lectureship jointly. The objective of the lectureship is to honor, at an annual ACS meeting, the contributions of an individual who has had a major impact on scientific research at the interface of chemistry and biology particularly in the realm of biochemistry, biological chemistry and molecular biology. The award is also intended to foster closer relations between the ACS Publications Divisions and the ACS Division of Biological Chemistry.

Eligibility: Candidates should meet the above criteria and have published at least one paper in Biochemistry. The current Editor-in-Chief of Biochemistry and the current Chair of the Division of Biological Chemistry are NOT eligible for this award.

Nominations: A nominator should send the curriculum vitae of the candidate, a list of publications, a letter explaining the special achievements of the candidate, and arrange for a minimum of two additional letters of support. All nomination material should be sent to:

Richard N. Armstrong
Editor-in-Chief, Biochemistry
Department of Biochemistry
832 RRB
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Nashville, TN 37232-0146
Biochemistry EIC Office eic@biochem.acs.org

Deadline – June 1, 2013


The ACS Chemical Biology Lectureship


ACS Chemical Biology and the ACS Division of Biological Chemistry are pleased to announce the annual lectureship to honor the contributions of an individual who has had a major impact on scientific research in the area of Chemical Biology and has published at least one paper in ACS Chemical Biology. The award will be presented at the Spring ACS National Meeting.

The lectureship will be administered jointly by the Editor-in-Chief of ACS Chemical Biology, Laura L. Kiessling (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and the ACS Division of Biological Chemistry. The award will consist of a specially designed lectureship hosted by the Division of Biological Chemistry, a cash award, plaque, and travel expenses to the meeting. A symposium honoring the awardee will consist of invited speakers, a short award presentation, followed by the award lecture.

Nominators should send the curriculum vitae of the candidate, a list of publications, a letter explaining the special achievements of the candidate in chemical biology, and a minimum of two additional letters of support. All materials should be sent as a single PDF file to the Secretary of the Division of Biological Chemistry by August 31, 2013. The selection committee consists of three individuals who were jointly chosen by the Editor-in-Chief of ACS Chemical Biology and the Chair of the ACS Division of Biological Chemistry.

Nigel Richards
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
402 N. Blackford St., LD 326
Indianapolis, IN 46202

ngrichar@iupui.edu

Other Awards

Murray Goodman Memorial Prize

This award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in one or more of the areas of biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, biophysics, and/or chemical biology. The award has been established in honor of the late Dr. Murray Goodman, a world-renowned bio-organic chemist, and the Founding Editor of Biopolymers.

Nominations for the Murray Goodman Prize should contain a statement, in 1,000-words or fewer, detailing the research accomplishments of the nominee, as well as the nominee’s current CV and two letters in support of the nomination. Nominations may be sent via paper mail and/or sent via e-mail attachment to Biopolymers.

Dr. Gary D. Glick, Editor-in-Chief, Biopolymers
Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan
930 N. University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1055
biopolymers.gdg@umich.edu.

Founders Travel Award

This award is to support the participation of students and/or postdocs at the Winter Enzyme Mechanisms Conference.

Tom Bruice, Bill Jencks, and Myron Bender, as a mechanism to foster collegial interactions within the community of chemists and biochemists interested in understanding the chemical basis for enzymatic catalysis and the regulation of enzyme action, founded the Winter Enzyme Mechanisms Conference in 1969. The passing of William P. Jencks on January 5 of 2007 coincided with the 20th meeting of the Winter Enzyme Mechanisms Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, and this loss was felt keenly by many senior participants at that conference. The interest in recognizing Bill’s many contributions to mechanistic enzymology, in a manner that would help to ensure the vibrancy of the community that he helped to create, resulted in the creation of the “Founders Travel Award”, which will support the participation of students and/or post-docs at the Winter Enzyme Mechanisms Conference. The ACS Biological Chemistry Division will manage the investment of funds contributed for this award and has established the process for the competitive selection of the awardees from abstracts submitted to the conference.

Travel Awards to Attend ACS National Meetings

The Division will offer travel awards on a competitive basis for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to attend each national meeting and present a poster or oral presentation on their research. The selected awardees will be reimbursed up to $500 for travel and registration expenses. Receipts must be submitted along with a request for reimbursement after the meeting. The following stipulations apply:

  • No more than two awards will be made to one laboratory for a single ACS meeting
  • No individual can win more than one division travel award (during their lifetime)
  • Preference will be given to BIOL presenters, although students/postdocs presenting outside BIOL are still eligible to apply
  • Awardees are ineligible for additional reimbursement from the division for the same presentation that is directly covered by the travel award

A student/postdoc travel award cannot be deferred to a later National Meeting. Anyone unable to use their travel award funds at the National Meeting for which the application was made will need to submit an entirely new application, and there is no guarantee that the new application will be chosen for funding.

A student/postdoc is eligible to receive travel award funds only if the student/postdoc has actually presented an abstract (poster or oral) at the corresponding ACS National Meeting. If for whatever reason (e.g., failure to submit an abstract, nonselection of the abstract, personal decision to change travel plans) the student/postdoc does not present an abstract at the meeting, then no division travel award funds will be provided.

To apply for a Travel Award

(1) Download and complete the Travel Award Application near the bottom of this page.
(2) Attach a printed copy of your abstract.
(3) Attach a one page CV.
(4) Attach a signed letter of recommendation from your faculty advisor.
(5) Send ONE COMPLETE PDF FILE of this material as single EMAIL attachment to the Program Chair, listed below.

The deadline for submission of an application for a travel award to the Fall (Indianapolis) meeting is June 15, 2013. Program Chair: Sheila David.
The deadline for submission of an application for a travel award to the Spring (Dallas) meeting is January 15, 2014. Program Chair: Sheila David.

Application for a 2013 Travel Award

Contact the Secretary of the Division of Biological Chemistry if you would like information about an award added to this page (ngrichar@iupui.edu).