Chi-Huey Wong wins 2021 Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry

Chi-Huey Wong, Scripps Family Chair Professor at Scripps Research, is the winner of the 2021 Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry. The $500,000 prize recognizes basic chemical research that benefits humankind. Wong will also receive a gold medallion.

Wong is being honored “for his development of new methods for the synthesis of complex carbohydrates and glycoproteins and the elucidation of carbohydrate-mediated biological recognition associated with disease progression,” according to the award citation.

“The mission of the Welch Foundation is to improve the lives of others through the advancement of chemical research, and Dr. Wong has been working towards that goal for decades,” Carin Barth, chair and director of the Welch Foundation Board of Directors, says in a statement. “Not only has he made revolutionary advances in chemistry and biology, but his methodologies will facilitate new drug and vaccine developments for years to come.”