Linus Pauling Medal To Stephen Lippard

Stephen J. Lippard, Arthur Amos Noyes Professor of Chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the winner of the Linus Pauling Medal Award, given annually by the ACS Puget Sound, Oregon, and Portland Sections in recognition of outstanding contributions to chemistry in the spirit of Linus Pauling, a native of the Pacific Northwest.

Lippard's research focuses on the synthesis, reactions, and physical and structural properties of metal complexes as models for the active sites of metalloproteins and as anticancer drugs. His group discovered and named the first metallointercalators, platinum terpyridine complexes that insert between the DNA base pairs and unwind the duplex. This research led to extensive studies of the covalent interactions of cisplatin and related anticancer drugs with DNA.

Lippard has also made contributions to metalloneurochemistry, including the synthesis of fluorescent and magnetic resonance imaging sensors that detect mobile zinc in neurons. This work has provided the first real-time fluorescence images of both inducible and constitutive nitric oxide production in living cells.

Lippard will be honored during a symposium and awards banquet at Portland State University, in Oregon, on Nov. 7.