National Award for Gelb and Tureček for mass spec genetic screening of newborns

National Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest Honors University of Washington Scientists.
The work of Dr Michael H. Gelb and Dr František Tureček in analytical chemistry has resukted in practical, reliable methodologies for the early detection of genetic diseases in newborns.

Cambridge, MA. February 15, 2013.

Professors Michael Gelb and František Tureček in the Chemistry Department at the University of Washington are being presented with the Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest for their work in developing a sensitive, specific, and inexpensive technique for detecting genetic diseases in newborns. Using the fact that certain errors in metabolism can be detected by enzymatic assays, their multiplex assay technique uses tandem mass spectrometry to identify several rare, genetic diseases such as lysosomal storage diseases using blood samples that are already routinely collected.

The Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest honors outstanding scientific achievement in scientific and technical work which contributes to the public well-being and has thereby communicated positive values of the chemical profession. The award is presented annually by the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society and has honored such publicly renowned chemists as F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario J. Molina (effect of chlorofluorocarbons on the ozone layer), Carl Djerassi (birth-control drugs), and Kary Mullis (polymerase chain reaction). The Esselen Award is given to honor the memory of G. J. Esselen, past chair of the Northeastern Section and founder of Esselen Research Corporation.

In recognition of their contributions, Drs. Gelb and Tureček will receive the Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest on Thursday, April 4, 2013, in a ceremony at Harvard University's Mallinckrodt Chemistry Laboratories at 8pm. Free and open to the public, the award lecture, to follow the presentation, is entitled “The Chemistry of Next Generation Newborn Screening.” Further information concerning the award can be found at the Northeastern Section’s website, www.nesacs.org.