Julia Kubanek is a Professor in the Schools of Biological Sciences and of Chemistry & Biochemistry in the College of Sciences at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

. She is also the Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research for Georgia Tech. She is also Co-Director of the Aquatic Chemical Ecology Center (Georgia Tech) and member 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 ...

, 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 ...

, the

Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), formerly known as the Limnological Society of America and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, is a scientific society established in 1936 with the goal of advan ...

, the International Society of Chemical Ecology, the International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae and the American Association of Underwater Science

Education and career

Kubanek studied at Queen's University and got her Chemistry degree in 1991. She completed her doctoral studies in 1998 at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. In 1998, she moved as post-doctoral researcher to the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and after, in 2001, to the

University of North Carolina Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a Public university, public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Caroli ...

. In 2001 she became Assistant Professor and in 2006 Associate Professor in the School of Biology and School of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the

. In 2009 she became Associate Chair of the School of Biology and Co-Director of the Center for Aquatic Chemical Ecology. From 2010 to 2013 she was Waernska Guest Professor in the University of

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Since 2011 she is Professor in the School of Biology and School of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. Between 2014 and 2021, she was Associate Dean for Research of the College of Sciences of

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. Since 2021, she is the Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research for Georgia Tech.

Research

Kubanek's research interests are focused on the chemical signalling used by marine organisms to communicate with each other and with the environment. This research is multi-disciplinary as it crosses organic chemistry, chemical ecology, and chemical biology. Kubanek's research has revealed how seaweed produce a chemical compound, lobophorolide, that enables the seaweed to resist predation by marine fungi. Further research has revealed the presence of organic compounds on the surfaces of seaweed that inhibit growth of marine fungi. Other notable research projects characterize organic compounds that act as allelopathic chemicals in corals and Caribbean sponges. Kubanek also leads research projects into the chemical signals from the red tide producing ''Karenia brevis''. Through screening of compounds produced by sea squirts, Kubanek's lab found compounds that can act as antifungal agents, which may lead to the development of novel drugs to prevent the growth of fungus. Kubanek's research on the compounds found in the urine of blue crabs was described in a ''New York Times'' article that presented the research in a manner readily accessible to the general public. Kubanek has three patents filed in the United States: ABC transporter ligand GATX1, Compounds and compositions useful in the treatment of malaria, and Methods for inhibiting CLC-2 channel with GATX2.

Awards

* National Science Foundation

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

(PECASE) Award (2002) * Georgia Tech Faculty Outstanding Faculty Member (2009) * Silverstein-Simenone Award, International Society of Chemical Ecology, for 'contributions to the field of chemical ecology' (2012) *AAAS Fellow (2012)

References

External links

Kubanek research group
* *Video: http://www.ace.biosci.gatech.edu/news/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Kubanek, Julia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Georgia Tech faculty Queen's University at Kingston alumni University of British Columbia Faculty of Science alumni Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Canadian women chemists American women biologists Women marine biologists Chemical ecologists 21st-century biologists 21st-century women scientists Canadian expatriates in the United States Women academic administrators