Metrohm USA Announces 6th Annual Young Chemist Award Winner

On Jan. 31, 2018, Metrohm USA announced that Chi-En Lin is the winner of its 2018 Young Chemist Award. Lin is a PhD candidate at Arizona State University where he works under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey T. La Belle, assistant professor at the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering.

Lin’s research focuses on the development of a panel of electrochemical biosensors for the diagnosis and management of complex diseases and comorbidity. According to Metrohm USA, Lin’s work on a rapid, disposable, and sensitive multimarker platform provides a comprehensive evaluation of a complex disease state, paving the way to more effective treatments and highly personalized care.

The core technology of the student’s work allows the multimarker biosensors to be customized for many complex diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as stated by the company.

“We are proud to celebrate 75 years of Metrohm by honoring a young scientist whose research will make a true difference in the world,” says Edward Colihan, president and CEO of Metrohm USA, in a company press release. “The quality of the student submissions and the impact of their research increase every year, so this year we decided to award two runner-up prizes of $1,000 each.”

Lin will accept the award and present a short overview of his work at the company’s on-booth event at Pittcon 2018 on Feb. 27 at 3pm. By winning the $10,000 award, Lin will also have the chance to compete in the global Young Chemist competition against other international winners. The global winner will travel to Metrohm’s headquarters in Switzerland for a celebratory ceremony in late 2018.

Runner-up prizes were awarded to Shelby Hooe (research advisor: Charles W. Machan, assistant professor of Chemistry) from the University of Virginia on “Electrocatalytic Reduction of Dioxygen to Hydrogen Peroxide by a Molecular Manganese Complex with a Bipyridine-Containing Schiff Base Ligand” and to Dr. Maral Mousavi (research advisor: George M. Whitesides, Woodford L., and Ann A. Flowers, university professor) from Harvard University for her research on “Thread-Based Electrochemical Devices for Ion Sensing”.

The Young Chemist Award is open to all undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, and doctorate students residing and studying in the United States and Canada who are performing novel research in the fields of titration, ion chromatography, spectroscopy, and electrochemistry.

Source: Metrohm