2009 Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research

Dr. Cecilia Clementi Rice University

“For her fundamental contributions to the
understanding of the molecular Biophysics of
protein dynamics."

Dr. Clementi earned her undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of Florence in 1995 and her master and doctoral degrees in Physics from the International School for Advanced Studies in 1996 and 1998, respectively.  She joined the faculty at Rice University in 2002 and is the Weiss Career Development chair and associate professor of chemistry and chemical and bimolecular engineering.

Merging her knowledge of applied sciences with mathematics to create statistical models of how a protein folds, Cecilia Clementi's findings could one day lead to countless breakthroughs in biomedicine.

Dr. Clementi's methods allow her to simulate the protein-folding process, giving us a better understanding as to how these three-dimensional structures operate.  A protein's folding mechanism is key to how it functions within a cell.  If a protein is midfolded, it could imply that a disease is present, especially in aggregation-related diseases such as Alzheimer's and Mad Cow disease, as well as cancer.

Dr. Clementi will be recognized on February 3 at a luncheon hosted by The Welch Foundation.  She will be presented with the crystal rising star sculpture and $100,000.