News Archive

Kevin Weeks Named Senior Member of National Academy of Inventors for Transformative RNA Discoveries

Kevin Weeks, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill, has been named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.

Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award Fuels Breakthrough on How Proteins Behave Inside Cells

Gary Pielak has received a Distinguished Scholar Fellowship from the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program that will fund a four-month research residency in Israel.

When Microscopes Make Masterpieces at the 2026 Art in Science Competition

In March, stunning images hidden will move out of the lab and into the spotlight during the 2026 Art in Science Competition.

Scientists Develop Implant to Treat Eye Disease Threatening Military Marine Mammals

An unusual collaboration including veterinarians, marine mammal specialists and chemists is treating PCK, a group of eye diseases that affects the surface of the eye, with ocular implants..

Older Forever Chemicals Plunge in Blood Tests as New Replacements Quietly Emerge

In the study, “Evaluating Legacy and Emerging PFAS in Human Blood Collected from 2003 to 2021,” the UNC-led research team wanted to see whether PFAS exposure might be linked to autoimmunediseases.

UNC Chemistry’s Megan Jackson Named a 2026 Cottrell Scholar

The UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Chemistry is pleased to share that Megan Jackson, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has been selected as a 2026 Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA).

Hettleman Prize Winner Lindsey James and the Chemistry That Decides Who We Are

Chemistry Ph.D. graduate Lindsey James is developing chemical tools to study how cells decide which genes to use, when to use them and when to keep them silent.

Researchers Use Light to Reshape Molecules in Powerful New Ways

A paper in the journal Chemical Science shows how researchers have found a powerful new way to rearrange chemical bonds using light.

UNC Chemists Turn Flat Molecules into Precise 3D Building Blocks for Medicines

The UNC team asked whether salicylaldehydes could be used to set a molecule’s shape early on and then carry that information through later steps.

Chemistry Student Uses Laser Flashes, a Powerful New Technique, to Track Electricity Inside Solar Cells

Saba Mahmoodpour is the lead author of a recent Journal of Physical Chemistry paper, which focuses on a powerful new technique called nonlinear photocurrent spectroscopy, or NLPC, which uses pairs of short laser pulses to measure how quickly electrical charges move inside thin-film solar cells.

Ph.D. Student Uses Machine Learning to Transform Gene Therapy Production

Ph.D. student Kelvin Idanwekhai is using machine learning to transform how viruses—the microscopic couriers of genetic medicine—are purified, making the process faster, cheaper and more precise.

UNC Researchers Create Low-Cost Antibody Test Using Common Glucometers

A team of researchers led by Netz Arroyoa asked themselves whether they could turn antibody testing into something as easy and affordable as checking a person's blood sugar.