Mark E. Davis is the Warren and Katherine Schlinger

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. He is a member of the

City of Hope National Medical Center City of Hope is a private, non-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate school located in Duarte, California, United States. The center's main campus resides on of land adjacent to the boundaries of Duarte and Irwindale, California ...

. He earned his B.S.,

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

, and

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 ...

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

all from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. His lab focuses on the synthesis of materials for catalysis and biocompatible materials for drug delivery. Davis was elected as a member into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 1997, for pioneering work in the synthesis of new catalytic materials.

Research

He did his doctoral work with John Yamanis on reactions engineering with annular bed reactors. His academic career started as an assistant professor at

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. It was founded as the Virginia Agricu ...

in 1981 and rose until becoming the Charles O. Gordon Professor of Chemical engineering in 1990. During his time at Virginia Tech, he developed some of the earlier

Zeolite Zeolites are a group of several microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a meta ...

molecular sieves A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry ...

and increasing the pore size. In 1991, he joined the faculty of the

and served as the Executive Officer of the department from 1999 to 2004. In 2004 he joined the

, Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 1995, his wife, Mary, was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to go through chemotherapy. Having seen the side effects of cancer treatment, he decided to do research on molecules that would prevent drug from leaking through healthy blood vessels but would stop at the tumor. His group conjugated

cyclodextrin Cyclodextrins are a family of cyclic oligosaccharides, consisting of a macrocycle, macrocyclic ring of glucose subunits joined by α-1,4 glycosidic bonds. Cyclodextrins are produced from starch by enzyme, enzymatic conversion. They are used in ...

to the anti-cancer compound

camptothecin Camptothecin (CPT) is a topoisomerase inhibitor. It was discovered in 1966 by M. E. Wall and M. C. Wani in systematic screening of natural products for anticancer drugs. It was isolated from the Bark (botany), bark of ''Camptotheca acuminata'' (� ...

to improve the bio-availability and exhibit efficacy in mouse tumor models. The compound, CRLX101 is now being tested in clinical trials. The cyclodextrin nanoparticles are also being used to encapsulate siRNA. He was the recipient of the

Alan T. Waterman Award The Alan T. Waterman Award, named after Alan Tower Waterman, is the United States's highest honorary award for scientists no older than 40, or no more than 10 years past receipt of their Ph.D. It is awarded on a yearly basis by the National Scienc ...

in 1990. In 1997, he was elected to the

, in 2006, to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, and in 2011, the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

. He is also the founder of Insert Therapeutics and Calando Pharmaceuticals.

Personal

Mark was born in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, as the son of teachers of history and English. Mark Davis is an accomplished athlete and was on a full scholarship in track and field at the

. He is the 400-Meter World Champion for the 55–59 division. He was also part of the USA 4x100 and 4x400 meter teams. He met his wife Mary while a professor at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. She was an accomplished

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

before being diagnosed with breast cancer.

References

External links

Academic ProfileDavis Lab websitePNAS Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Mark E. Living people 1955 births Engineers from Pennsylvania American chemical engineers Academic staff of the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain Kentucky Wildcats men's track and field athletes University of Kentucky College of Engineering alumni Virginia Tech faculty California Institute of Technology faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the National Academy of Medicine People from Ellwood City, Pennsylvania City of Hope National Medical Center