University of Notre Dame Professor Anthony S. Serianni in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry has received the 2026 Derek Horton Award in Industrial Carbohydrate Chemistry from the American Chemical Society Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Chemical Glycobiology.
The award, presented annually, celebrates distinguished achievements in, and outstanding contributions to, industrial carbohydrate chemistry.
Serianni’s biotech company, Omicron Biochemicals, Inc., was founded in 1982. The company develops and improves chemical and chemo-enzymatic methods to prepare carbohydrate-containing biomolecules. Operating with 15 employees and serving clients in biomedical research around the world. Serianni credits his coworkers at Omicron as key to the company’s growth and achievements.
“Receiving an award because of Omicron’s contributions to science… that’s a recognition of the people that work there. They are great people, and I have been very fortunate to have had talented and dedicated coworkers working there for many years.”
At Notre Dame, Serianni conducts fundamental research developing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) strategies to determine the structures of complex sugars. Complex sugars include those attached to proteins and lipids. These differ from simple sugars, like glucose and fructose found in fruit and sweets. Using high-field NMR spectroscopy, Serianni’s research group uses labeled molecules to investigate their three-dimensional shapes in solution, which helps explain how molecules recognize and interact with each other in biological systems.
Serianni’s most recent development of MA’AT analysis, which acts like a high-speed camera, allows researchers to accurately map the movements of molecules.
Serianni will formally receive the award at the American Chemical Society National Meeting this spring in Atlanta, Georgia. He will also have the opportunity to speak at the awards symposium alongside another NMR researcher from the University of Maryland.
Originally published by at science.nd.edu on February 20, 2026.