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NEWS RELEASE
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University
www.las.iastate.edu
Arthur Winter
9-3-10
Contacts:
Art Winter, Chemistry, (515) 294-2813, winter@iastate.edu
Steve Jones, Liberal Arts & Sciences Communications, (515) 294-0461, jones@iastate.edu
Arthur Winter honored with
Iowa State's Caldwell Chair in Chemistry
AMES, Iowa – Arthur Winter's laboratory at Iowa State University is working to develop new chemical tools for investigating cancer cells at the molecular level and also for the targeted delivery of chemotherapies. Winter's research is receiving a boost by his being honored as the Carlyle G. Caldwell Chair in Chemistry at Iowa State.
The two-year chair will provide him with supplemental annual funds for his teaching and research efforts. Endowed chair funds often are used to support graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, purchase additional equipment and supplies, and provide travel to professional meetings or for professional development.
The Caldwell Chair was established in 1985 in honor of Iowa State chemistry alumnus Carlyle G. Caldwell and funded through contributions from corporations, foundations and individuals.
Carlyle G. Caldwell was chairman and chief executive officer of the National Starch and Chemical Corp. until 1984 before becoming chair of the company's executive committee. He distinguished himself as a researcher and corporate executive in his more than 45 years with the company. Caldwell earned both his B.S. (1935) and Ph.D. (1940) degrees in chemistry from Iowa State.
Caldwell's graduate research at Iowa State focused on the basic chemistry of corn starch, and he made pioneering research contributions in many areas in starch chemistry that later found widespread application in industry.
Part of Winter's work is aimed at improved cancer therapies. He explained that in the traditional approach to chemotherapy, both healthy and diseased tissues are "carpet bombed" with toxic chemotherapy drugs injected into the bloodstream. Of course, serious side effects result from the destruction of healthy cells along with the cancer cells.
"We are working on a different approach," said Winter, assistant professor of chemistry, "which involves developing a chemical mediator that selectively transports these toxic drugs to the diseased tissues. In this way, the mediator acts like a homing device to transport the toxic drugs selectively to the site of the tumor, leaving the healthy tissues unscathed."
Winter said such targeted therapies hold the promise of minimizing the side effects that come from non-selective destruction of healthy tissues, while increasing potency.
Winter's group also is working on other chemical tools with potential applications in biology and medicine, including a new class of fluorescent imaging tools that will allow tracking of biomolecules in the cell in real time.
In addition, he also is developing what he describes as a molecular "cage" that releases drugs using precisely directed laser irradiation. "The basic science needed for the construction of this tool," explained Winter, "is poorly developed so we have to bootstrap our way to this goal by building a foundation of basic research. We must identify how molecular structure relates to our desired photochemical reactivity.
"So the lab work is an interesting mix of basic science and application-driven science."
Winter said he is excited to receive the Caldwell funds.
"Equipping, staffing and maintaining a cutting-edge research laboratory in chemistry is a massively expensive enterprise," he said. "The funds will be a major help in supporting the work of the graduate students and undergraduates in my lab, as well as purchasing supplies and equipment."
His lab, which includes four Ph.D. students and four undergraduates, has relocated to Iowa State's new 135,000-square-foot chemistry building, Hach Hall.
Nicola Pohl, professor of chemistry, was the previous holder of the Caldwell Chair.
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