Alexei Demchenko, winner of the 2024 ACS Midwest Award
Alexei Demchenko was born, raised, and educated in Moscow (Russia, not Idaho). He graduated from the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology with a Diploma (MS) in Chemical Engineering before joining the laboratory of the late Professor Kochetkov at the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry in Moscow. In 1993, he was awarded a PhD in organic chemistry by the Russian Academy of Sciences for his work on the development of thiocyanate methodology for glycosylation.
After two post-doctoral years under Kochetkov, he joined Professor Boons’ group at the University of Birmingham (UK, not Alabama) as a BBSRC post-doctoral research fellow. In 1998, he moved to the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia (USA, not Transcaucasia) as a research associate. In 2001, he joined the faculty at the University of Missouri–St Louis as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2007 and Professor in 2011. In 2014, Demchenko was appointed Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
In 2021, Demchenko relocated about seven miles southeast, joining the faculty at Saint Louis University as Professor and Chair of the Chemistry Department.
Professor Demchenko has received professional recognitions and awards throughout his professional life, including a CAREER award by the National Science Foundation (2005), the New Investigator Award by the Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (2007), the UMSL Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research and Creativity (2013), the ACS–St Louis Award (2014), the UMSL Senior Investigator of the Year Award (2017), Fellows Award by the Academy of Science–St Louis (2020), the UMSL Co-Investigators of the Year Award (with Keith Stine, 2020), the Melville L Wolfrom Award from the Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Chemical Glycobiology of the ACS (2024), and now this, the ACS Midwest Award (2024).
Professor Demchenko has co-authored 230 articles and has given more than 180 invited lectures and seminars. With participation of more than 170 co-workers and trainees, the Demchenko laboratory (Glycoworld) has developed many innovative tools for the synthesis and application of carbohydrates. His research interests are in the area of synthetic carbohydrate chemistry that include: streamlined synthesis of carbohydrate building blocks; novel glycosylation reactions; stereocontrol of glycosidic bond formation; assembly of complex glycans and glycoconjugates; synthetic vaccines and glycopharmaceuticals; human milk oligosaccharides and other food additives and ingredients; solid-phase and automated synthesis; conjugation of glycans to proteins, surfaces, and nanoparticles. His research program has been funded by grants totaling $13M.
Professor Demchenko has served in many editorial roles and organized several international conferences including the 2015 Gordon Research Conference on Carbohydrates. Since 2019, he has served as President of the US Advisory Committee for the International Carbohydrate Symposia. Professor Demchenko was the 2020-2021 Chair of the Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry of the ACS and is the national representative to the International Carbohydrate Organization.
The ACS Midwest Award was established in 1944 by the St Louis Section ACS to recognize a scientist who, while a resident of the Midwest region, has made a meritorious contribution to the advancement of pure or applied chemistry or chemical education. The Award is conferred annually at the Midwest Regional Meeting of the ACS, this year held in Omaha, NE, October 13-15. To honor the Award recipient, an Award Symposium is scheduled for Monday, afternoon, October 14, followed by a Reception and Awards Banquet that evening. The meeting program and registration materials (including banquet ticket purchase) can be found at MWRM2024.org.
“Computers and the physics of complex biological systems”
