Colorado State University Professor Wins Japanese Prize For Contributions In Chemistry
Wednesday, January 8, 1997
FORT COLLINS--Albert Meyers, internationally respected
organic chemist and chemistry professor at Colorado State,
received the Yamada Prize for his contributions in asymmetric
synthesis.
The Yamada Prize is awarded to a scientist worldwide whose
research has had a major impact in this specialized field. The
prize was founded in 1995 to commemorate contributions to the
field by professor Shun-ichi Yamada of Japan, who died in April.
The award to Meyers came with a silver medal and 500,000 yen,
equal to about $5,000 in U.S. currency.
The Yamada Prize selection committee called Meyers, a
professor at Colorado State since 1972, a "true pioneer of the
current rage in asymmetric synthesis, which today is singly the
most popular subject in organic chemistry."
Meyers was one of the first organic chemists in the world to
duplicate nature's process in creating optical isomers, the
specific molecular arrangements in enzymes. This process--called
asymmetric synthesis--enabled researchers to synthesize and
duplicate a single optical isomer, which is produced naturally in
human bodies and other organic materials.
Prior to Meyers' work in the field, scientists had known for
years how to separate the isomers with mirrored parts, but didn't
know how to efficiently prepare them as separate forms. The
double parts have minimal, and sometimes harmful, effects in a
drug because one side is typically inactive or toxic when used in
medical treatment.
One example is thalidomide, a drug used in the 1960s to
treat morning sickness in pregnant women. One mirror part of the
optical isomer in that drug was effective in curbing morning
sickness, while the other part caused fetal deformities.
Meyers executed the first asymmetric synthesis of a number
of isomers in the early 1970s at Colorado State and, along with
his students, developed methods in the laboratory to produce
synthetic versions of those mirrored parts on a larger scale.
Until Meyers' breakthrough, scientists used an expensive, tedious
process to separate mirrored parts, and that process in turn
triggered higher costs for medicines.
As a result of Meyers' efforts and the efforts of other
organic chemists, the Food and Drug Administration now requires
pharmaceutical companies to isolate the mirrored parts of isomers
that are effective for treatment and only include them in drugs.
This contribution allowed researchers to pinpoint specific
isomers that can elicit positive biological responses in people
who suffer from AIDS and some cancers.
"Nature is very specific about what it wants," Meyers said.
"Asymmetric synthesis has enabled drug manufacturers to produce
medicines that are safer and more efficient."
Meyers' honors include several national and international
awards, including the American Chemical Society Award for
Creativity in Organic Synthesis, the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award
and the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award.
Meyers was appointed University Distinguished Professor in
1986 and the John K. Stille Professor of Chemistry at Colorado
State in 1993. In 1994, Meyers was elected to the National
Academy of Sciences.
The Yamada Prize announcement is the second recent award
recognizing Meyers' work. Meyers also is the recipient of the
International Award in Heterocyclic Chemistry, which honors a
single chemist's contributions in heterocyclic chemistry. This
area focuses on synthesizing carbon and hydrogen compounds as a
way to design drugs that efficiently emulate the biological
functions of those compounds.
Meyers will receive that award, along with a $3,000 cash
prize, at the 1997 International Congress of Heterocyclic
Chemistry in Bozeman, Mont., in August.
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