FEATURED NEWS
UCLA Chemistry “Faculty Spotlight” Series Highlights Four CNSI Members
UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry has recently published a series of “Faculty Spotlight” articles that cast a well-deserved light on faculty from the department—including four members of the CNSI at UCLA. Professors Alexander Spokoyny, Prineha Narang, Keriann Backus, and Ellen Sletten have been recognized for their groundbreaking research and contributions to the field of chemistry. These spotlights not only celebrate their individual achievements but also underscore the innovative and collaborative research that defines the CNSI.
You can read more about each faculty member in the articles below:
Faculty Spotlight: Professor Alexander Spokoyny
Congratulations to Professor Alexander Spokoyny on his promotion to full professor with tenure, effective July 1, 2024.
Spokoyny is a prominent chemist specializing in inorganic, main group and organometallic chemistry, with a particular focus on the applications of these fields in energy storage and biomedical technologies. He currently serves as the Chair of the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, a position he has held since 2023.
Spokoyny completed his undergraduate studies at UCLA, earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2006, where he was an undergraduate researcher in Professor M. Frederick Hawthorne’s group… Read more
Faculty Spotlight: Professor Ellen Sletten
Congratulations to Professor Ellen Sletten on her promotion to full professor, effective July 1, 2023.
Sletten’s groundbreaking research and innovative approaches have positioned her as a leading scientist in chemical biology, with a particular focus on bioorthogonal chemistry and molecular imaging.
Sletten earned her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Stonehill College in 2006. She then pursued her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, under the mentorship of Nobel Laureate Professor Carolyn Bertozzi, a prominent figure in bioorthogonal chemistry. Her doctoral research centered on the development of new chemical tools for studying biological processes, setting the stage for her future contributions to the field… Read more
Faculty Spotlight: Professor Keriann Backus
Congratulations to Professor Keriann Backus on her promotion to associate professor with tenure, effective July 1, 2024.
A prominent chemical biologist known for her groundbreaking work in chemoproteomics and chemical probe development, Backus’ research seeks to advance our understanding of protein function and guide discovery of therapeutic targets with innovative mass spectrometry techniques and multi-omic approaches. Her lab has made important contributions to covalent probe discovery, cysteine chemoproteomic technology development, and redox biology, which together inform and offer potential breakthroughs for treating human disease.
Backus received bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and Latin American studies from Brown University in 2007. She conducted undergraduate research in inorganic chemistry in the laboratory of Professor Amit Basu at Brown and also conducted research in the laboratory of Professor Tarun Kapoor at Rockefeller University… Read more
Faculty Spotlight: Professor Prineha Narang
From climbing mountains in the Cascades and South America to being a U.S. Science Envoy building relationships internationally in quantum, Professor Prineha Narang strives to be a role model for the next generation for scientists and engineers. So, a slightly belated congratulations to Professor Narang on her promotion to full professor and appointment as Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, both effective July 1, 2023.
The NarangLab’s work was featured in a video by APS earlier this year: Quantum Trailblazers.
The team is dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of quantum phenomena, from research to models to products. With the talented students, postdoctoral scholars and collaborators at UCLA, they are propelling their scientific pursuit forward, and driving groundbreaking research that is not only advancing theoretical knowledge in quantum science and engineering but also paving the way for practical applications… Read more