Chemistry and Medicine for Modern Life
Introduction
It is our great pleasure to announce that the 2023 Annual Symposium of Chinese American Chemical Society – East Chapter will be held at the Busch Campus of Rutgers University on June 17, 2023. After four long years of virtual events, we are thrilled to bring this event back on site, and to provide an exciting opportunity for face-to-face discussion, networking, and collaboration.
This year's theme, "Chemistry and Medicine for Modern Life", emphasizes the crucial role that chemistry and medicine play in improving our quality of life, from the development of life-saving drugs and therapies, to the creation of sustainable and environmentally-friendly chemical processes.
This symposium will feature talks from leading experts from academia, industry, and government in Green Chemistry, Synthetic Biology, Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Intellectual Property, and Regulatory, as well as career workshop and panel discussion, job posting, poster session and awards, vendor show and prize drawing.
To keep our attendees fueled and energized throughout the day, we will be providing free breakfast, lunch, and coffee.
We are excited to offer this opportunity for attendees to engage with their peers, learn about new developments in chemistry and medicine, and connect with potential collaborators and employers.
On behalf of the organizing committee, we would like to wish everyone a successful and enjoyable symposium. We look forward to seeing you there!
Yuan Cheng, Ph.D., 2023 President-Elect & Symposium Chair
Xiaozhou (John) Zhang, Ph.D., 2023 President
Yunlong Zhang, Ph.D., Immediate Past-President
2023 EAST- CACS Annual Symposium
Co-sponsored by
The Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University
8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Saturday, June 17, 2023
Lecture Hall 131
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Rutgers University
160 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854
Contact us @ info@eastcacs.org
John Warner
Bio:
John is a chemistry inventor who works to design and create commercial technologies inspired by nature consistent with the principles of green chemistry. With over 300 patents, he has invented solutions for dozens of multinational corporations. His inventions have also served as the basis for several new companies. Examples include: Collaborative Medicinal Development (ALS therapy), Hairprint (hair color restoration), Collaborative Aggregates (asphalt warm mix rejuvenators), Ambient Photonics (lowlight indoor photovoltaic devices for IoT and BIPV).
He is one of the cofounders of the field of green chemistry, coauthoring the defining text “Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice” and articulating the 12 principles of green chemistry with Paul Anastas. John has over 100 publications providing foundational work in the fields of noncovalent derivatization, polymer photochemistry, metal oxide semiconductors and synthetic organic chemistry. John has received prestigious awards as an academic (Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring – President G. W. Bush & NSF, 2004) and the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal from the German Chemical Society, 2022), industrial chemist (Perkin Medal – Society of Chemical Industry, 2014), inventor (Lemelson Ambassadorship – Lemelson Foundation & AAAS) and for governmental chemicals policy (Reinventing Government National Performance Review – Vice President A. Gore & EPA, 1997). He received the American Institute of Chemistry's Northeast Division's Distinguished Chemist of the Year for 2002 and the Council of Science Society President’s 2008 Leadership award. Warner was named by ICI Services as one of the most influential people impacting the global chemical industries. In 2011 he was elected a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and named one of “25 Visionaries Changing the World” by Utne Reader. He serves as Distinguished Professor of Green Chemistry at Monash University in Australia and was named an Honorary Professor at the Technical University of Berlin. He served as the 2020 and 2021 Global Chair for the Center for Sustainable and Circular Technologies at the University of Bath. In 2017 the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and The Technical University of Berlin announced the naming of “The John Warner Center for Green Chemistry Start-Ups” in his honor. He serves as strategic advisor for the Science, Engineering and Health Committee of EPA Victoria in Australia.
John received his BS in Chemistry from UMASS Boston, and his PhD in Chemistry from Princeton University. After working at the Polaroid Corporation for nearly a decade, he then served as tenured full professor at UMASS Boston and Lowell (Chemistry and Plastics Engineering). In 2007 he founded the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, with Jim Babcock (a research organization developing green chemistry technologies), and Beyond Benign with Amy Cannon (a non-profit dedicated to sustainability and green chemistry education). John gives keynote talks and workshops on Green Chemistry, Innovation, The Circular Economy, and Biomimicry. He continues to advise several international organizations.
Abstract:
Green Chemistry, the Sustainability Pendulum and the Circular Economy
The materials economy can be thought of as a pendulum with the field of chemistry at its apex. In one direction, the human-built world manifests through manufacturing and recycling. In the other direction, the natural world is a combination of extraction and degradation. The overlap between these two termini of the pendulum is a useful quantitative assessment of sustainability. This presentation will describe the 5 embedded cycles of use/reuse, assembly/disassembly, materials metabolism, regeneration and stable ecosystems. Examples from both the human-built world and the natural world will be presented to illustrate the issues and opportunities for green chemistry to design a sustainable future.
Yajun Yan
Bio:
Yajun Yan got his Ph.D. degree (2008) at University at Buffalo, the State University of New York in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. During this period, his research focus was metabolic engineering. From 2008 to 2010, he did his postdoctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles with further training in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. In 2010, Dr. Yan joined the University of Georgia as an assistant professor of Biochemical Engineering and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2015 and full professor in 2019. His current research focuses on developing enzymatic and microbial approaches for green biomanufacturing. He has published over 100 research articles in scientific journal with high impact, including Nature Biotechnology, PNAS, Nature Communications, Trends in Biotechnology, Biotechnology Advances, Metabolic Engineering etc. In addition, his research has resulted in 16 issued patents. Several of them were licensed to ChromaDex and Easel Biotechnologies, respectively. His patented work also led to two startup companies.
Abstract:
The use of microbial systems for synthetic purposes holds significant promise in the realm of green manufacturing. However, in order to fully unleash the potential of these systems, it is imperative to broaden the range of products that can be synthesized and improve the efficiency of biosynthesis. Achieving these goals necessitates concerted efforts in two areas: constructing synthetic pathways for compounds that are beyond the scope of natural hosts and developing overproducing strains. These efforts require the identification of new enzymes or the creation of novel enzymatic activities that can function in non-natural pathways, as well as the reprogramming of cellular metabolism and regulation to better support biosynthetic activities. In this seminar, we will present a selection of projects that showcase our understanding and experience in these fields, including: 1) repurposing enzymes to enable microbial synthesis of diverse specialty chemicals, and 2) establishing a modifiable carbon metabolism coordination system to promote carbon-efficient production.
Zhixiong Xue
Bio:
Zhixiong Xue, Ph.D., Senior Principal Scientist and Technical Fellow, IFF
Zhixiong received his bachelor’s degree in Organic Chemistry from Nanjing University, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Enzymology from UCLA. After post doctoral training at Columbia University, he joined DuPont Central Research as a molecular and cell biologist. His expertise are in functional genomics, molecular biology, and genetic engineering of microorganism
In 27 years with DuPont and IFF, Zhixiong has worked on a variety of projects, focused on engineering of microbes as cell factory for production of chemicals. He led strain engineering effort for advanced biofuel program, and was also a key member of teams that engineered yeast to produce omega-3 fatty acid.
jin zhu
Bio:
Jin uses his strong scientific background to assist clients with a variety of patent and other intellectual property needs. With a Ph.D. in organic chemistry as well as prior experience as a research scientist for pharmaceutical companies, he possesses a comprehensive knowledge of the science behind his clients’ innovations. Jin has represented clients in proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and International Trade Commission. He advises clients on drug development strategies and abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) processes.
Jin has led numerous IP due diligence investigations for organizations, including biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies, in multimillion-dollar mergers and acquisition transactions. Jin has experience analyzing all relevant drug substance facts, including route of synthesis, formulation, polymorphs and treatment regimen.
He handles all stages of the patent process, from planning the appropriate filing strategy to prosecuting patent infringement issues. Jin has rendered legal opinions on patent infringement and validity relating to cytotoxic molecules, synthesis and methods of treating various types of cancer. He has prosecuted various patent applications related to therapeutic molecules, chemical compositions, biotech processes, fermentation and diet supplements.
Co-leader of the firm’s China IP initiative, Jin applies his in-depth knowledge of the Chinese economy and intellectual property landscape to serve clients that operate in or have IP interests in China and the U.S.
Mark TAng
Bio:
Mark Tang is a managing director of a healthcare private equity venture capital firm with offices in Asia and New York. Mark has over two decades of experience in the field of biotechnology as an entrepreneur, educator, advisor, and investor. He previously worked for investment bank PaineWebber/UBS and Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter. He was formerly a research associate at Rockefeller University and a biotech director at Rutgers Business School. Mark attended the University of California, NYU and Harvard.
Linda Zhao
Bio:
Pharma BDs play critical roles in Pharma and Biotech’s business. Their roles are typically focused on building collaborations including in-licensing and out-licensing, co-development and so on. There are hard skills and soft skills required to be a competent BD. Solid training and working experience in life sciences or medical sciences are essential for a high-level BD. But how to transform from a scientist to a BD? Linda Zhao would like to share with the audience her experience on this topic. Linda has 13 years of hands-on research experience at Roche, NJ R&D center; more than 10 years of BD experience including pharma service BD, and pharma corporate BD.
