James Nowick is a professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

. His research is focused on

peptidomimetic A peptidomimetic is a small protein-like chain designed to mimic a peptide. They typically arise either from modification of an existing peptide, or by designing similar systems that mimic peptides, such as peptoids and β-peptides. Irrespective ...

(

peptide Peptides are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. Polypeptides that have a molecular mass of 10,000 Da or more are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty am ...

-like) molecules and their potential applications to the study of

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...

-like protein aggregates, which are associated with

neurodegenerative disease A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...

s such as

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Nowick is well known for his interest in

chemistry education Chemistry education (or chemical education) is the study of teaching and learning chemistry. It is one subset of STEM education or discipline-based education research (DBER). Topics in chemistry education include understanding how students learn ...

and is the organizer of the Open Chemistry series of video lectures distributed by UCI. Nowick is

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

and in 2009 received the Scientist of the Year award from the

National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals Out to Innovate, previously known as the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP), is a professional society for professionals in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering. Each year, Out to I ...

(NOGLSTP), an affiliate of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

Academic career

Nowick received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1985 and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1990. He joined the faculty at

in 1991. Nowick's research group studies the

synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors **Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organi ...

and design of

molecules, or those that resemble

s, with particular interest in molecules that replicate features of

beta sheet The beta sheet (β-sheet, also β-pleated sheet) is a common motif of the regular protein secondary structure. Beta sheets consist of beta strands (β-strands) connected laterally by at least two or three backbone hydrogen bonds, forming a gene ...

s such as their characteristic

hydrogen bonding In chemistry, a hydrogen bond (H-bond) is a specific type of molecular interaction that exhibits partial covalent character and cannot be described as a purely electrostatic force. It occurs when a hydrogen (H) atom, Covalent bond, covalently b ...

patterns. Beta sheet interactions are known to be involved in the formation of

fibrils found in the brains of patients with

and in other protein misfolding diseases. Nowick's group studies molecules that interfere with the formation of these interactions in order to improve understanding of the biochemical mechanisms underlying these diseases. Nowick was a recipient of the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

in 1998. He is a fellow of the

Teaching, outreach, and activism

Nowick is well known for his interest in

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

education, public outreach, and mentorship, particularly of younger

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

scientists. As a graduate student at MIT he founded both a graduate student LGBT organization and a chemistry outreach program for high school students, which has since expanded to reach a thousand students per year. As a professor at UCI Nowick organized the Open Chemistry program, which provides free video lectures corresponding to most UCI undergraduate chemistry courses and which received a Distance Education Innovation Award in 2013. He has received several awards from UCI for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Nowick is

and is active in advocating for

visibility in the sciences and in mentoring LGBT students. He established a seminar course called "Queer Science, Queer Scientists" at UCI, has organized campus panels on topics in LGBT advocacy such as California's ballot measure against same-sex marriage in 2008, and is involved in the Gay and Transgender Chemists and Allies Subdivision of the

References

External links

Recordings of Lectures on Organic Chemistry
by James Nowick. Available in the AV-Portal of

German National Library of Science and Technology The German National Library of Science and Technology (), abbreviated TIB, is the national library of the Federal Republic of Germany for all fields of engineering, technology, and the natural sciences. It is jointly funded by the Federal Mini ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowick, James Living people Columbia College (New York) alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of California, Irvine faculty 21st-century American chemists American LGBTQ scientists Year of birth missing (living people)