Jonathan Stefely Receives McKnight Prize in Undergraduate Chemistry

Senior chemistry major Jonathan Stefely received the distinguished McKnight Prize in Undergraduate Chemistry on November 7 at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Stefely was one of more than 75 undergraduate students representing 62 universities and colleges from 30 states who competed for three prizes. His presentation titled, "Synthesis, Antitumor Activity, and Biological Evaluation of Novel 1,2,3-Triazole-Based Tubulin Polymerization Inhibitors" earned him the second place prize which was accompanied by a $1,000 cash prize.

The McKnight Prize in Undergraduate Chemistry is a national award intended to promote undergraduate research in chemistry through recognition of outstanding accomplishments. Of the more than 75 senior applicants, only ten finalists from around the country were invited to travel to New Braunfels, Texas for the University of Texas Southwestern, Department of Biochemistry's annual retreat to present posters on their work. Winners were chosen both for the significance of their work and the quality of their presentation.

Stefely’s research has been very interdisciplinary, involving synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and biology. Because of access to multidisciplinary resources, he has been able to synthesize and discover novel anti-tumor compounds, improve their activity, and identify their biological mechanism of action. While in Texas, he interacted with professors who were excited about his results and shared insightful suggestions for future experiments. His work was supported by a Notre Dame College of Science Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Stefely said, “I am very grateful for the research opportunities that Professor Marvin Miller and Notre Dame have provided.”

 

 

More information on the Frank and Sara McKnight Prize.