A Century of Chemistry PhD Achievement

Grant E. DuBois is an Organic Chemist (BS Chemistry and Mathematics / Capital University; PhD Organic Chemistry / SUNY at Buffalo; Postdoc / Stanford University). Grant was recipient of a Distinguished Alumnus Award / Capital University, was awarded entry to his high school Wall of Fame and is listed in Marquis Who’s Who.

Grant began his professional career with Dynapol Co. (sweetener research) and then joined Syva Co. (immunoassay development and fluorescent probe research). Subsequently, he joined Searle Pharmaceutical Co. (sweetener research) which led to the development of neotame. Grant then joined The Coca-Cola Co. where he was named the company’s first Research Fellow. Research led to 1) first 0-calorie frozen beverages, 2) first sweetener receptor positive allosteric modulators (Senomyx collaboration) and 3) GRAS approval of stevia sweetener rebaudioside A. In 2012, Grant joined stevia sweetener manufacturer Almendra, as CSO. Grant’s Almendra research led to a breakthrough formulation technology commercialized as System G™, markedly improving the tastes of all sweeteners. Concurrently, Grant served as VP Research for Crave Crush LLC and developed a gymnemic acid based dietary supplement for treatment of obesity and diabetes, commercialized as Sweet Defeat™. Grant is an inventor on about 100 patents and patent applications and author of approximately 80 publications.

Sweetness: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Cindi is currently leading a global research and development division at Linde, the world’s largest gases and engineering company.  Her team is responsible for innovation for industrial gas supply and gas processing technology.  In her 30+ year career, she has led innovation and engineering teams to develop and implement technology in the electronics, healthcare, chemicals and space industries.  She earned her BS and PhD in Chemistry  from SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Buffalo respectively.  She resides in Grand Island, NY where her and her husband raised five children and where she is active in the Western New York community serving on the UB Dean of Engineering Advisory Council and the Buffalo Museum of Science boards.

What can you do with a PhD?  My journey from graduate research to industry leadership

Bob's career has spanned over forty years in organizations from 40 to over 2 million employees. Starting with a BS in organic chemistry from Fordham University and an MS from the University of Vermont. Bob saw the error of his ways and completed a PhD in Analytical Chemistry under the direction of Janet Osteryoung at the University at Buffalo conducting research into gas phase and vacuum electrochemistry. Throughout his career, Bob has formulated latex paint for DuPont, conducted objective active deodorant research for Johnson & Johnson, characterized ink fired from inkjet printers for HP, and led the chemical component of CDC's Laboratory Response Network. In the company of chromatographers Bob is a mass spectrometrist and a chromatographer when surrounded by mass spectrometrists.

Laboratory Response Network: Lessons in Analytical Chemistry I Did Not Learn in Grad School

Todd D. Maloney is an Associate Vice President in the Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD) organization at Eli Lilly and Company, where he leads cross-functional teams developing integrated process control strategies for synthetic oligonucleotides, peptides, and bioconjugates. Todd earned his B.S. in Chemistry from SUNY Oswego (1996) and his Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo (2002) with Professor Luis A. Colón. He began his career in 2001 with Pfizer Global Research and Development in Ann Arbor, MI, before joining Eli Lilly and Company in 2007. Throughout his career at Lilly, Todd has pioneered the development and implementation of advanced methodologies in separation science, process analytical technology (PAT), and mass spectrometry across numerous commercial products. He was awarded the Lilly Research Laboratories President's Scientific Recognition Award (2017) and the Lilly Research Laboratories President's Award for Diversity and Inclusion (2020). In addition to his role at Lilly, Todd serves on the Board of Directors of the Enabling Technologies Consortium (ETC), where he is Chair emeritus, and was the co-Chair of the 55^th International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques (HPLC 2026).

Separating What Matters: A 25-Year Journey from UB to the Frontier of Next Generation Therapeutics

Mark E. Meyerhoff is the Philip J. Elving Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at the University of Michigan (UM).  He received his Ph.D. from SUNY-Buffalo in 1979 and joined the faculty at UM that same year. His research focuses on the development of new ion-, gas-, and bio-selective electrochemical/optical sensors. 

He also conducts research on the development of novel nitric oxide (NO) releasing materials/devices. He has authored > 430 papers over the past 46 years. He has received the ACS-Division of Analytical Chemistry Award in Electrochemistry (2003), the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry’s Reilley Award (2006), the Ralph Adams Award in Bioanalytical Chemistry (2014), the American Chemical Society’s Award in Analytical Chemistry (2020), the Association of Analytical Chemists ANACHEM Award (2021), and the Talanta Medal (2023).

Enhancing the Biocompatibility of Intravascular Devices (Catheters, Sensors, etc.)

Just say YES to NO (Nitric Oxide) Releasing Materials

Carolyn Ribes is the Business Analytical Leader for Industrial Intermediates and Infrastructure at Dow Chemical. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1989. She joined the Dow Analytical Sciences R&D group in Plaquemine, Louisiana where she developed and implemented on-line analyzers for process control and monitoring. In 1997 she relocated to Freeport, Texas, as part of dual-career move within Dow, and expanded her responsibilities in process analysis to global projects. For 11 months in 1999/2000, she and her husband Al supported a startup of a polyethylene plant in Bahia Blanca, Argentina. In 2006, Carolyn moved to Terneuzen, the Netherlands, as the process analytical technology leader for Europe. In 2009, she became a Business Analytical Leader; in this role she defines and implements the business manufacturing analytical strategy to support quality control and manufacturing operations for over 70 facilities.

Carolyn is active in WIN, Dow's Women's Innovation Network. She was a member of the IUPAC Committee on Chemistry and Industry from 2008-2019, COCI Chair 2018-2019, and the US National Committee to IUPAC 2005-2011. She served as Co-Chair of the IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Award Committee from 2012-2019. Carolyn has been a volunteer leader in the American Chemical Society, serving local sections, the Analytical Division, and several national committees and task forces, including Chair of Younger Chemists Committee, Women Chemists Committee, the Committee on Science, the Committee on Committees and the Committee on Public Affairs and Public Relations. She is currently a member of the ACS Board of Directors (Director at Large, 2021-2026) and serves on the Executive Committee. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2014), received the 2019 Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society, was named one of the 2011 Distinguished Women in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering by IUPAC, and received the 2021 Prism Award from the Society of Women Engineers.

A Life in Analysis: Turning Measurements into Meaning

Chemical sensors, societal value, and SUNY at Buffalo Chemistry - A Career.

Dr. Joseph P. Vacca earned his BS in chemistry in 1977 from St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York, and obtained his PhD degree in Organic Chemistry under Professor Peter T. Lansbury Sr. at the State University of New York at Buffalo (New York). He joined Merck Research Laboratories in 1981 and he and his teams have made major contributions to several approved drugs including the HIV protease inhibitor CRIXIVAN™ (indinavir sulfate), the HIV integrase inhibitor Isentress™ (raltegravir); the HCV protease Inhibitor (VanihepTM, vaniprevir), the combination product ZepatierTM which is a combination of the second generation HCV protease Inhibitor grazoprevir and the NS5A protein Inhibitor elbasvir and the recently approved second generation HIV NNRTI inhibitor doravirine. Dr. Vacca retired from Merck in 2011 and took a role as Senior Vice President of Early Success Sharing Partnerships at WuXi AppTec Limited. He left WuXi in Sept. 2015 to be a consultant and now acts as an interim head of chemistry for several small startup companies.

Dr. Vacca has over 100 publications and patents and is the holder of many awards including a Merck Directors Award (1998); PhRMA Discoverers Award (1999); Intellectual Property Owners "National Inventor of the year Award" (1997); European Inventor of the Year (non-EU nation) (2007); ACS "Award for Creative Invention" (1999); and was a named a Merck Research Laboratories Presidential Fellow in 2008. He was named to the American Chemical Society Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame (Aug. 2012) and was also named a “Hero of Chemistry” (along with the research team) for his role in the discovery and development of the HIV integrase inhibitor IsentressTM.

The Discovery of Important Antiviral Compounds

TBD

After completing a postdoc where I studied copper containing proteins with Professor E. I. Solomon at M.I.T. and Stanford University, I started as a research scientist at Genentech, Inc. During my 30+ year career I played key roles in the development human growth hormone (Nutropin), DNase (Pulmozyme), and anti-VEGF (Avastin and Lucentis), while also participating in the development of numerous other therapeutic proteins.

In 1989, I moved into protein purification process development, and in 1999, I started moving into management roles of increasing responsibility within the technical development organization. I became the VP of US Biologics Technical Development in 2010, responsible in the US for all cell culture, protein purification, protein formulation, and protein analytical development for clinical and commercial biologic products. I retired from Genentech in 2013.

From Bioinorganic Chemistry to Biotechnology: 50 Years of Learning