Robert Vince and colleagues Swati More and Ashish Vartak explain that DA has been the focus of much research recently because it is linked to respiratory and other problems in workers at microwave popcorn and food-flavoring factories. DA gives microwave popcorn its distinctive buttery taste and aroma. Vince’s team realized that DA has an architecture similar to a substance that makes beta-amyloid proteins clump together in the brain — clumping being a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Full article in Chemical & Engineering News by Stephen K.

Bob Vince can't be sure where his becoming a scientist began, but where it led changed the world. As the discoverer of carbovirs, the precursor to the AIDS drug Ziagen, Vince's contribution to humanity can't be underestimated. Though its history is one fraught with lessons and lawsuits, the drug's legacy, in the end, is and will be one of human health and some mercy for millions afflicted with HIV/AIDS.

Cyanide is one of the deadliest poisons around. Your body can handle a little of it, but for larger exposures an antidote is necessary. Current antidotes can work, but they're slow. That could change, however, now that three researchers at the University of Minnesota's Center for Drug Design (Profs Steve Patterson, Robert Vince and Herbert Nagasawa) have synthesized Sulfanegen, a faster-acting antidote. The researchers synthesized and tested several compounds and named the one that worked best Sulfanegen. Its job is to help out an enzyme that's key to the body's own cyanide-defense system.

Dr. Robert Vince, Professor and Director of the Center for Drug Design, was inducted to the Minnesota Science and Technology Hall of Fame. Dr. Vince is one of eight inductees who was honored at the Annual Tekne Awards celebration on November 3, 2011.The Minnesota Science and Technology (MST) Hall of Fame was created by the Minnesota High Tech Associate and Science Museum of Minnesota to honor individuals whose achievements in science and technology have made lasting contributions to Minnesota and the world.

The International Society for Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids has awarded Dr. Robert Vince the 2010 Imbach Townsend Award. The award is based upon Dr. Vince's fundamental contributions to nucleic acids chemistry and to science in its broadest sense. The award is sponsored by Idenix and was created to honor the founders of the International Round Table. It was given to Dr. Vince for his outstanding contributions in the chemistry of and biology of nucleoside analogues.

Dr. Robert Vince, Professor and Director of the Center for Drug Design, will be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from SUNY Buffalo, May 9, 2010, as a pioneering leader in the areas of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.

Dr. Robert Vince, Director, Center for Drug Design has been selected to the Academic Health Center’s Academy for Excellence in Health Research. Inaugurated in 2003, the AHC Academy for Excellence in Health Research serves as the highest recognition of excellence in AHC faculty research. Those selected have contributed to the quality of the University of Minnesota through sustained, nationally, and internationally recognized health-related research in his/her field. The final selection was made by the current members of the Academy.

Congratulation to Dr. Benjamin Duckworth for being awarded a two-year fellowship by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The title of his project is entitled "Investigation of tuberculosis adenylating enzymes using activity probes."

Congratulation to Dr. Hiqmet Kamberaj, in Yuk Sham's lab. He has received the First Prize for his poster at the "Bioinformatics: Building Bridges Symposium." His poster was entitled "Computational Alanine Scanning of the Beta Lactamase Inhibitor Protein and TEM-1 Beta-Lactamase Complex."

Steven Patterson of the CDD has been awarded a three-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. This is a second NIH grant based upon his continuing research involving the development of a drug against cyanide poisoning.