UW Chemist Receives Cope Scholar Award

Samuel Gellman, an organic chemist and an authority on protein molecules and their function in the body, has been given a 1997 Cope Scholar Award by the American Chemical Society.

The award, and an unrestricted $25,000 research grant, was presented to Gellman at the society’s national meeting in Las Vegas Sept. 9.

Gellman was cited for his efforts to reveal the intricacies of how chains of proteins fold upon themselves, one of biology’s reigning conundrums. To do their jobs, proteins must, for example, form precise pockets in their three-dimensional structures. These pockets facilitate the vast array of chemical reactions that occur in a living organism.

Proteins are large molecules that fold up because certain parts are attracted to each other. Gellman describes the phenomena as “sticky,” meaning they are associations rather than permanent bonds.

While subtle, these sticky interactions are largely responsible for whether and how a biological reaction occurs. Understanding their nature, says Gellman, is the first step toward influencing them in targeted ways – to modify a drug so it more effectively attacks cancer cells, for example.

Although such interactions are delicate and difficult to study, Gellman has developed a laboratory version of molecules the body uses to help proteins fold correctly. Called artificial chaperones, Gellman’s patented method is important as biotechnologists attempt to produce human proteins such as insulin and human growth hormone through genetically-modified bacteria.

The non-profit American Chemical Society, founded in 1876, is the world’s largest scientific society with a membership of 152,000 chemists and chemical engineers.