With a $300,000 grant, the Welch Foundation is supporting University of Texas at Arlington research into creating new materials to safely and effectively deliver medications to treat diseases such as cancer. Since its founding in 1954, the Houston-based Welch Foundation has contributed over $1.1 billion to the advancement of chemistry through research grants, departmental programs, endowed chairs and other special projects in Texas.
As one of the nation's largest private funding sources for chemical research, we are committed to supporting the field in a way that advances science while changing lives. Medications can only be so effective at treating diseases if we can't get them to the parts of the body that need them most. I look forward to seeing how Dr.
Junha Jeon's research can help advance and improve drug production so we can improve lives." Adam Kuspa, president of the Welch Foundation Junha Jeon, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UTA, is leading the project to study "arynes," a chemical compound formed by removing two hydrogen atoms from benzene. Although scientists have known about arynes for more than 100 years, they only recently discovered that the compounds have a unique ability to deliver antibiotics and anti-tumor medications.
"I'm honored that the Welch Foundation sees the value in supporting our research," Dr. Jeon said. "Worldwide, an estimated 2 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year, and about one in five people will develop .