Helma Wennemers

Professor

Helma Wennemers studied chemistry at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt before moving to Columbia University, New York where she received her PhD degree for graduate studies with W. Clark Still in 1996. Following two years as a JSPS postdoctoral fellow at Nagoya University with Hisashi Yamamoto, she joined the faculty of Basel University as the Bachem-endowed assistant professor in 1999 where she was promoted to associate professor (2004) and full professor (2011). Since 2011, she has been professor of chemistry at the ETH Zurich in the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry.

Helma Wennemers research group focuses on the development of peptides with functions that are fulfilled in nature by large macromolecules. She utilizes the power of synthesis to access functionalities that nature might not have had in the repertoire of building blocks. The focus is both on practical applications and an understanding of the properties of the peptides at the molecular level. This scope includes the development of peptides as asymmetric catalysts, functional collagen peptides, and peptidic scaffolds for applications in supramolecular and biological chemistry (e.g., cell-penetrating peptides, RNA recognition, and tumor targeting), and the controlled formation of metal nanoparticles.

Her work has been recognized by a number of awards, including the Leonidas Zervas Award from the European Peptide Society (2010), the Inhoffen Medal from the Helmholtz Center (2017), the Pedler Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2016), the Netherlands Scholar Award for Supramolecular Chemistry (2019), an Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society (2021), and the Scoffone Prize from the Italian Peptide Society (2022).

Marcey Waters

Professor

Prof. Marcey Waters earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at UC San Diego in 1992 after beginning her scientific career in the laboratory of Professor Charles Perrin in physical organic chemistry. She then completed a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University Chicago for her research in mechanistic organometallic chemistry in the group of Bill Wulff in 1997. She subsequently pursued research in bioorganic chemistry as an NIH postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Ronald Breslow at Columbia University. She joined the faculty of UNC Chapel Hill in 1999 where she is now the Glen Elder, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.

Prof. Waters began work in peptides when she started her independent career and her early work focused on the study of beta-hairpin folding and function. Her current work focuses on the study of the molecular recognition of post-translational modifications and their isosteres in histone tail peptides in their role in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. She served as the President of the American Peptide Society from 2017 to 2019. She is an AAAS fellow and has been recognized by UNC and the Association for Women Faculty and Professionals as a leader in mentorship for women and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. She has also received numerous teaching awards.