凯文·埃德加

天然多糖化学, 可持续性, 药物输送, 传染性疾病, Glycoscience

I grew up in New Jersey in a working class family, ten miles west of the George Washington Bridge, and was fortunate to attend Bucknell University in Pennsylvania — thanks to a then-generous student loan program and lots of side jobs! 再一次。, fortune smiled down on me and Duke admitted me for doctoral studies in organic chemistry and my job at Kodak started a few days after my Ph.D. 壁报论文! My career at Eastman Kodak Chemical was a joy and through contacts made at the American Chemical Society, my transition to Virginia Tech was enabled in 2007. 这种不同寻常的职业组合是一个真正的优势.

My major fields of interest are the chemistry of natural polysaccharides, glycoscience, creating methods for selective synthesis of derivatives of the complex and challenging polysaccharides, designing sustainable-based materials for optimal performance, biodegradable materials for low environmental impact, and biomedical applications including delivery of poorly soluble, 低生物利用度活性分子, 组织工程.

这些兴趣转化为我的研究, which is based on the chemistry of natural polymers that are made of chains of sugars, not unlike a charm bracelet that are called polysaccharides. These benign, biodegradable, sustainable materials are incredibly diverse and abundant in nature. They are severely underutilized and re搜索ers work very hard to understand their structure/property relationships, 从而设计出有用的新材料. These new natural-based materials can be designed for the highest performance and mild environmental impact.

我第一次发现了对这项工作的热情 ...
When I was working for Eastman Chemical Company, more or less by accident; the more I learned, 它就越能点燃我的激情和兴趣.

我的工作影响社会 ...
Our materials promise to make existing drugs work much better, and to make more new drugs available to patients. We can design materials that perform the needed task, then degrade back to materials that nature can reuse, rather than clogging the digestive tract of a bird or fish. We create an understanding of how natural polymers work, towards a more sustainable world.

这是我最具影响力的经历 ...
I'm very fortunate to have been able to have a great industrial career before coming to Virginia Tech. The experience and skills gained at Eastman are invaluable for my roles at Virginia Tech, 尤其是在领导方面, 管理, 和学生一起工作.

我看到了我这个领域的未来 ...
Polysaccharide chemistry and the broader glycoscience field are the last great, crucial challenge in understanding natural polymers and their influence on life itself.

我最喜欢的一句话 ....
Shakespeare and Lincoln are two of my favorites; both had remarkable insights into the human soul, and ability to convey important thoughts in a few words. "We can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. 勇敢的人, 生与死, 谁在这里挣扎, 把它神圣化, far above our poor power to add or detract" - the Gettysburg Address is such a wonderful example.

在我空闲的时候 ...
I love to get out and enjoy a trail in the beautiful New River Valley, 带网上赌博网站十大排行的狗狗去散步, 和朋友一起享受一顿大餐, 和我妻子共度时光, 女儿, 和兄弟.

在弗吉尼亚理工大学工作最好的部分 ...
The ability to influence and help develop young people is a remarkable privilege and a source of ever-renewing joy.

在我的领域里让我兴奋的东西 ...
了解自然如何创造, 控制, and uses natural polysaccharides to influence everything from blood clotting, 大脑发育, 工作接头, 病原体入侵, 远不止于此.

我所参与的团体或组织 ...
American Chemical Society (ACS) in so many ways. Appalachian Trail Conservancy as a long time maintainer of the trail and a through hiker (Georgia to Maine, 2200英里).

我最自豪的荣誉或奖励 ...
Four of my students have won the Graduate Student award from the ACS division of Cellulose & Renewable Materials (one first place award per year in an international competition). No other lab approaches that number - I'm so proud of our students.

我读过的最后一篇文章 ...
The work on carbohydrates attached to COVID proteins has been fascinating; how important they are to entry of the virus into cells, 他们有多难被描述, how far behind the work on the protein itself this lags (because it is a harder problem). This underlines the importance and great challenges of glycoscience.

鼓励一位有抱负的发明家的话 ...
Work on important problems and do hypothesis-based, fundamentally strong work.

为什么化学 ...
化学结合了基本原理, 毕竟, the central science) with the hands-on and practical in a way that appeals greatly to me. 我在一个工人阶级家庭长大, and the ability to apply both my mind and my hands to chemical science has always been uniquely satisfying.