Yale’s Seth Herzon wins national chemistry honor

August 30, 2024
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Herzon is the winner of the American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry.


Yale chemist Seth Herzon, whose research illuminates the molecular mechanisms at work in anticancer and microbiome-derived natural products, has won a national award from the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Herzon, the Milton Harris ’29 Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, won the ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. Sponsored by MilliporeSigma, the award is given to “recognize and encourage excellence in synthetic organic chemistry.”

Herzon joined the Yale faculty in 2008. He is a member of the Yale Cancer Center and holds joint appointments in the Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Radiology at Yale School of Medicine.

His research has led to novel therapies for fighting brain cancer, mechanistic understanding of microbiome-driven cancers, and a deeper understanding of small molecule-nucleic acid interactions.

“I am extremely honored to receive this award,” Herzon said. “Yale has a longstanding tradition of excellence in organic chemistry, and I am proud to be a part of it.”

Herzon will be honored at an award ceremony in San Diego on March 25, 2025, in conjunction with the ACS spring 2025 meeting.

Previous winners of the award include current Yale faculty members Jonathan Ellman, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry and professor of pharmacology, and Scott Miller, Sterling Professor of Chemistry.

Herzon and Ranjit Bindra, the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale School of Medicine, are co-founders of the Yale start-up company Modifi Biosciences, which is working to develop novel therapies for the treatment of drug-resistant brain cancers.