2006-2007 Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series: Professor Vincent M. Rotello
"Nanoparticles in Biology: Small Packets that Go Places and Do [Big] Things"
Nanoparticles provide unique scaffolds for the binding of such biomolecules as proteins and DNA. Professor Rotello will describe how his research team combines synthesis, materials science, and biology to create nanoparticles that bind to specific targets, providing new systems for chemotherapy and diagnostics. One focus is on gene delivery, with potential for treating many genetic diseases. Another is on “silver bullet” treatments designed to maximize therapeutic efficacy while minimizing side effects.
Vincent M. Rotello joined the university in 1993 and is the Charles A. Goessmann Professor of Chemistry at UMass Amherst. He is also a professor in the program in molecular and cell biology and an adjunct in the department of polymer science and engineering. Professor Rotello conducts research in the field of supramolecular chemistry of biological and materials systems. His research team is also applying synthetic chemistry to the creation of nanoscale devices.
Professor Rotello's research is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health, the Office of Naval Research, the Army Research Office and the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative. Professor Rotello received the Samuel F. Conti University Distinguished Faculty Fellowship in 2004-04, and he was an Alfred P. Sloan fellow from 1998-2000. He received an NSF Career award in 1997 and was a Lilly Teaching Fellow at UMass Amherst from 1996-97. He was an invited professor at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Cachan in France in 2005. Professor Rotello earned his bachelor's degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1985; and a master's degree and doctorate from Yale University in 1986 and 1990, respectively. He was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1990-93.
Free and open to the public.
Reception immediately follows talk.
