Christopher Chang, Professor of Chemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley has been awarded the 2019 Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Chemistry from Tel Aviv University. The prize recognizes distinguished scientists under age 45 who have made outstanding and fundamental contributions in their fields. Chang shares the 2019 prize with Matthew Disney of Scripps Research in Florida and Jason Chin of Cambridge University in England.
Chang said of the award, "It's exciting that chemical biology is being recognized as a field by this honor and I'm thankful to our group for their creativity, hard work, and collaborative spirit to doing the best science we can."
Chang’s research interests include inorganic, organic, and biological chemistry. His research group has pursued new concepts in sensing and catalysis to study metals in biology and energy. Results from the lab include the development of activity-based sensing (ABS) as a general technology platform to enable biological applications that include imaging and diagnostics, proteomics, and drug delivery. These molecular probes have identified copper and hydrogen peroxide as signals for regulating processes spanning neural activity and neurogenesis to fat metabolism, opening a field of transition metal signaling. Team research efforts have advanced artificial photosynthesis through the development of molecular catalysts that mimic enzyme biocatalysts or heterogeneous materials catalysts, as well as hybrid bioinorganic, organometallic, and supramolecular systems that merge molecules with biological and/or materials components.
About the Prize
The Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prizes were established through the generosity of Dr. Raymond and Mrs. Beverly Sackler, visionary patrons of the sciences at Tel Aviv University. The Sackler Prizes are intended to promote originality and excellence of research in the field of Biophysics, Chemistry and Physics. They are administered by Tel Aviv University.