Chemistry of Life Processes Institute recently welcomed Northwestern faculty members Amy Rosenzweig, Danielle Tullman-Ercek, and Monica Olvera de la Cruz to its Faculty Executive Committee. All three distinguished researchers are members of the Institute. The Committee oversees resource allocation and helps shape the strategic direction of the Institute whose mission is to accelerate drug development and biomedical discovery at Northwestern to advance human health. The group is comprised of CLP faculty members, many of whom serve dual roles as heads of CLP centers and cores.

Monica Olvera de la Cruz, the Lawyer Taylor Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering, is recognized internationally for her contributions to analyzing, modeling and designing new materials that mimic effective biological processes. She is a professor of chemical and biological engineering, chemistry, and physics and astronomy and director of the Center for Computation and Theory of Soft Materials.  Olvera de la Cruz has received many honors including, the National Institutes of Health FIRST Award, the David and Lucille Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and National Security Science and Engineering Faculty.

Amy Rosenzweig, the Weinberg Family Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences and Professor of Molecular Biosciences and of Chemistry, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, is a leader in the fields of bioinorganic chemistry and structural biology. Her laboratory focuses on metalloproteins, which comprise up to 50 percent of all proteins. Rosenzweig’s work has provided seminal insights into how metalloenzymes catalyze complex and difficult chemical transformations and how cells acquire and distribute essential yet toxic metal ions. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. She is a recipient of many awards, including the Royal Society of Chemistry Joseph Chatt Award, the American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education, an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Amherst College, and a MacArthur Fellowship.

Danielle Tullman-Ercek, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Director, Master of Science in Biotechnology Program, McCormick School of Engineering, is a noted expert in controlling the movement of materials across biological membranes. Her team develops tools and techniques from protein engineering and synthetic biology that enable and enhance the production of pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and materials in microbes. Her honors include the Outstanding Young Alumna Award, Illinois Institute of Technology ChBE, the Searle Leadership Award, and the NSF CAREER Award.

Chemistry of Life Processes Institute is where new cures and better diagnostics begin. CLP brings together world-leading Northwestern University investigators across a wide array of disciplines to accelerate the pace of biomedical discovery to advance human health.