Chemical Bond, November 2025

Vol. 76, No. 6, November, 2025

• Benjamin Garcia is the 2025 Saint Louis Section ACS Award Winner 31 October 2025

  Dr. Mikhail Berezin, Chair of this year’s award jury, announced Dr. Benjamin Garcia as the winner of the 2025 St. Louis Section ACS Award.

  • The Winner

    

    Dr Ben Garcia, 2025 St. Louis Award Winner

    Dr Garcia is the Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University Medical School. He earned his BS in Chemistry from UC Davis in 2000, working with Prof. Carlito Lebrilla, and obtained his PhD from the University of Virginia in 2005 under Prof. Donald Hunt. After an NIH postdoctoral fellowship with Prof. Neil Kelleher at the University of Illinois, he joined the Molecular Biology Department at Princeton University. He accepted an appointment at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 2012, was promoted to full professor in 2016, and was named the John McCrea Dickson M.D. Presidential Professor in 2017. He moved to Washington University in 2021.

    The Garcia lab has been developing and applying state-of-the-art mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic approaches and computation for interrogating protein modifications, such as those in histones, involved in epigenetic mechanisms of human diseases. One of the Garcia lab’s most significant contributions has been the development of novel MS-based methods coupled with metabolomic labeling for meticulous high-throughput tracking of hundreds of combinatorial histone modifications in a single experiment, which has helped elucidate the mechanisms of various human diseases, cancer progression and developmental disorders. His research has also demonstrated links between the gut microbiome and histone acetylation, revealing how microbial metabolites influence epigenetic regulation through nutrient metabolism. He has over 450 publications, with 110 since 2021, cited over 59,000 times.

    He has received numerous awards, including the ASMS Research Award, NSF CAREER award, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the Pittcon Achievement Award, and the ASMS Biemann Medal and the Eastern Analytical Symposium Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, American Chemical Society (ACS), and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

    Ben currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Proteome Research, the Molecular and Cellular Proteomics journal and Molecular Omics journal, and is an Associate Editor for both the Analytical Chemistry and the Mass Spectrometry Reviews journals. He is President-elect of U.S. Human Proteome Organization (US HUPO), and was elected Chair of the ACS Analytical Chemistry Division. He actively mentors underrepresented and historically marginalized scientists, receiving recognition with awards such as the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Ruth Kirschstein Diversity in Science Award and the ASMS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Mentorship Award. He is currently the Co-chair of the DEIR committee for the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, and is a member of the ACS Committee on Minority Affairs. He serves as a mentor for the ACS Connects student program and for the ASBMB MOSAIC junior faculty program. He was named an Analytical Scientist Leader and Advocate, and was recently included in the Atlas of Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx Scientists.

  • The Symposium

    
    
    

    in honor of Dr Benjamin Garcia

    Spectrometry for the Masses: from small molecules to protein structure

    Friday December 5, 2025
    Eric P Newman Event Center (EPNEC)*, Seminar Room B
    Washington University School of Medicine
    (directions)
    

    1:00	Dr Elizabeth Bergman, Chair of the St Louis Section, American Chemical Society Welcome and general introduction
    1:05	Dr Michael Gross, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Washington University, Symposium Chair Introduction and Salute to Dr Garcia
    1:10	Dr James Edwards — Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Saint Louis University Expanding the Metabolomic Toolbox: Chemical Derivatization for Discovery of New Metabolites and Single Islet Analysis
    2:00	Dr Michael Gross — Professor, Department of Chemistry and of Immunology and Internal Medicine, Washington University Protein Footprinting for Understanding Protein Aggregation in Alzheimer’s Disease
    2:50	Coffee Break
    3:05	Dr Michael Washburn — Professor, Department of Cancer Biology; Executive Director, Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Core Laboratory; Member, Cancer Biology Research Program, The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center Integrative Structural Modeling of Human Chromatin Remodeling Complexes
    3:55	Dr Ben Garcia, Awardee — Professor and Head, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University Quantitative Proteomics for Understanding Epigenetics Mechanisms
    4:45	Reception Immediately following the symposium
    6:00	St. Louis Award Banquet, Glen Echo Country Club, 3401 Lucas and Hunt Rd, Normandy, MO. Reservations required (see below for details and a link to make a reservation)

  • The Banquet

    

    Friday December 5, 2025, immediately following the Award Symposium (nominally 6:00 pm)
    Glen Echo Country Club*
    3401 Lucas and Hunt Road
    Saint Louis, MO 63121

    in honor of Dr Benjamin Garcia

    6:00 pm	Reception —hors d’oeuvres (candied bacon, caprese, chicken skewers) 6:00–7:00 pm —open bar (beer, wine, soda) 6:00–8:00 pm
    7:00 pm	Dinner —First Course: mixed green salad with tomato, cucumber, mozzarella, sunflower seeds, and ranch or Italian dressing —Entrée: duo entrée of beef tenderloin and Asian glazed salmon, seasoned sesame rice, and stir-fry vegetables —Dessert: tiramisu
    8:00 pm	Program Elizabeth Bergman, Chair, Saint Louis Section Opening Remarks and Award Presentation Professor Michael Gross, Department of Chemistry, Washington University Introduction of the Awardee Benjamin Garcia, Awardee Title TBA

    Reservations

    Reservations are required by Monday, December 1st.

    Please provide the following information for your party:

    • Name(s) of attendee(s)
    • Dietary limitations, if any
    • Number attending
    • Remittance amount: $40 each regular ACS member and spouse, $20 each graduate and undergraduate ACS member, $60 each non-member

    Send reservations and the requested information with a check payable to “St Louis Section–ACS” by postal mail to:

    Dr John Taylor
    Department of Chemistry
    Campus Box 1134
    Washington University
    One Brookings Dr
    Saint Louis, MO 63130
    email: taylor@wustl.edu

    or …

    Pay via PayPal (enter the requested info in the Notes window).

    For either method of payment, it would be best to send a confirming email with the information to Dr Taylor.

    For information on obtaining ACS Membership see www.acs.org/membership.html

    *Glen Echo Country Club is in Normandy, in the southwest sector of the intersection of Natural Bridge Road and Lucas & Hunt Road. A link to a map with directions is available here. Use either entrance:

    1. Main entrance drive: turn west off Lucas & Hunt Road; Edison Avenue will be on the opposite side of the road almost adjacent to the entrance drive. Continue on the winding drive, and the parking lot will be on your right adjacent to the clubhouse.
    2. Back entrance: turn south off Natural Bridge Road onto St Mary’s Lane, just east of the post office. Continue through the gate, veer right, and park in front of the clubhouse.
• 2025 Annual Section Picnic Report 31 October 2025

  From Jim Bashkin:

  On September 7, our section held its annual picnic at Shaw Park in Clayton. Twenty people attended, including 15 section members. After a long, hot summer, the weather was perfect. It was wonderful to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. We’re already looking forward to next year.