Professor Chad Mirkin to be awarded 2022 Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal

Professor Chad MirkinProfessor Chad Mirkin

Chad Mirkin, the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University, will be presented the 2022 Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal Award for his outstanding scientific contributions and engineering of biomaterials. The award is presented annually by Acta Materialia, Inc. and Elsevier and is considered the highest honor in the biomaterials research community.

“I’m thrilled to receive this award. We have worked for three decades to develop biomaterials that make a difference in materials science, chemistry, medicine and many other critical fields. This is a wonderful recognition for the efforts of many talented students and postdoctoral fellows who have expanded the frontiers of science and made discoveries that have positively impacted human-kind,” said Mirkin, who is also the director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology.

One of his most significant contributions to the scientific community, which warranted his reception of the Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal, is the invention of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) — globular forms of DNA with the ability to actively enter cells for targeted treatment delivery. SNAs are game-changers for vaccine and treatment development and could be the key to helping eradicate rare cancers, such as prostate cancer and triple-negative breast cancer.

Mirkin will receive the award, which includes $10,000, at the April 2022 Society for Biomaterials annual meeting.

Learn more about the award in Northwestern Now.