One of the most common methods of combating the influenza virus is to utilize an inhibitor to prevent the binding of the viral protein neuraminidase with cell surface receptors terminating in a sialic acid moiety. While this may sound like a complex process, it’s actually relatively simple to understand once the scientific jargon has been translated. In order for a virus like influenza to continue its life cycle, its neuraminidase enzyme needs to bind to and cleave a sialic acid molecule away from the human cell receptors.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Adam W. Van Wynsberghe attended the 7th annual National Biomedical Computation Resource Summer Institute at the University of California-San Diego, July 30-Aug. 3, and presented the summer research of Leah Krause ’13. Other Van Wynsberghe lab members who contributed to the research included Alvin Wu ’13, Dan Mermelstein ’14 and Jeremy Adelman ’13.

Greg Rahn, analytical instrumentation specialist, and Tim Elgren, professor of chemistry, presented a poster titled "A New and Improved Method for Monitoring Beer Vicinal Diketones as Maturation Markers" at the World Brewing Congress in Portland, Ore.  The work was done in collaboration with the Matt Brewery in Utica.

Rob Clayton ’15 and Leah Krause ’14 presented their research at the 11th Molecular Educational Research Consortium in Undergraduate Computational chemistRY (MERCURY) conference at Bucknell University. Both students have been working this summer in the laboratory of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Adam Van Wynsberghe.

Daniel Mermelstein ’14 is conducting research this summer on a protein produced by the fetus, alpha-fetoprotein, that might hold the key to a reduction in breast cancer.

At the end of their summer research, students from Hamilton, Colgate University. and Hobart and William Smith Colleges who did projects in organic chemistry gathered at Hamilton to present their results in a symposium on July 25. Each student spoke for 15 minutes and then responded to questions. A cookout at the Babbitt Pavilion followed.

Three Hamilton College faculty members were approved for tenure by the College’s Board of Trustees during a recent meeting. The Board granted tenure to Wei-Jen Chang (biology), Myriam Cotten (chemistry) and Heather Merrill (Africana studies).

Hamilton’s highest awards for teaching were presented on May 4 to five faculty members. Ian Rosenstein,Christopher Vasantkumar, Andrew Dykstra, Heather Buchman and Patty Kloidt were honored at the Class & Charter Day ceremony.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Camille Jones was recently appointed to serve a three-year term as a member of the U.S. National Committee for Crystallography (USNC/Cr).

A paper recently published by Assistant Professor of Chemistry Adam Van Wynsberghe received notice in two different venues in the past month. It was featured on the Oak Ridge National Labs’ supercomputing center website and was named a “must-read” by the post-publication review service Faculty of 1000.