Erin M. Daly, a fourth-year graduate student in Professor Richard E. Taylor’s research group, has been awarded an American Chemical Society, Division of Organic Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship sponsored by Merck Research Laboratories for the 2008-09 academic year. This award is given to students in Ph.D. programs in their third or fourth year of study. Students applying for this award must prepare a short essay on a research area of their choice. Evidence of research accomplishment is an important factor in the selection of the fellowship holders. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident visa holders at the time of application. The American Chemical Society, Division of Organic Chemistry Fellowship Committee chooses the recipients of the award, for more information visit their website.
Daly’s current research project entails the synthesis of both diastereomers of 14-methyl epothilone D, which subsequently will be used in binding affinity studies with the protein beta-tubulin; the latter studies will provide comprehensive evidence towards the bioactive conformation of the epothilone class of natural products. The remainder of her graduate career will be directed toward biochemical research with polyketide synthases.