SFU’s global reputation for carbohydrate research excellence was further enhanced last month when three generations of university chemists were honoured with Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) awards at the 96th annual Canadian Chemistry Conference in Quebec City.

Baby Boomer, professor and VP Research, Mario Pinto, received the CSC’s Alfred Bader Award for his exceptional contributions to organic chemistry spanning almost 30 years at SFU.

Generation X’er David Vocadlo, who joined SFU in 2004 as a Canada Research Chair in Chemical Glycobiology and became a full professor in 2011, received the Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Research Excellence Award for his contribution to medicinally relevant organic chemistry.

And Millennial Generation member and recent PhD grad, Jefferson Chan, now a University of California, Berkeley post-doc, won the CSC’s Boehringer Ingelheim Doctoral Research Award for his thesis research in bio-organic chemistry directed by SFU chemistry professor Andrew Bennet.

“You would think there was something in the water here,” jokes Pinto.

“But the truth is, SFU scientists have made and/or collaborated on groundbreaking advances in carbohydrate chemistry over the years, particularly in our knowledge of the structure and function of carbohydrates, or sugars, in their macro-molecular state.

“And our international standing continues to help us recruit some of the brightest minds in the field to SFU.”

Pinto is one of Canada’s leading bio-organic chemists and a recognized international leader in synthesis, conformational analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and molecular modeling protocols. He has made several fundamental contributions to knowledge and methodology that have advanced drug and vaccine design.

His research has been published in more than 200 journal articles and presented at more than 125 talks in 16 countries since 1982.

His research results have potential applications for controlling or treating bacterial and viral diseases, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer, and have been protected by four patents, with an additional five in progress and 10 provisional patents filed.

Pinto is also an award-winning teacher and accessible mentor to the more than 150 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and postdoctoral students he has supervised over the years.

Says Vocadlo, “SFU’s forward-thinking approach to interdisciplinary research and excellent environment for carbohydrate chemistry were important considerations in my decision to come here.”

Vocadlo’s research focuses on understanding the basic processes involving carbohydrates present on proteins, which could support novel treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and cancer.

In particular, his lab is developing chemical and biochemical tools that help researchers figure out the role specialized sugars play in health and disease.

Vocadlo, who is jointly appointed in chemistry and microbiology and biochemistry, has twice received the Discovery Accelerator Supplement from NSERC and was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 by the Caldwell Partners in 2010.

In 2011, he received a two-year E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship, one of Canada’s top science and engineering prizes. He also received the 2013 Horace S. Isbell Award from the American Chemical Society.

“SFU has an amazing glycoscience program and it’s very exciting we are being recognized with such prestigious awards,” says Chan.

His SFU research was focused on developing new methods to understand how enzymes speed biochemical reactions. He focused on understanding the chemical workings of enzymes called sialidases, which are a prime drug target for slowing the spread of the influenza virus.

Chan co-authored 10 peer-reviewed publications at SFU, wrote a book chapter, mentored five undergraduate researchers and won more than 15 awards and scholarships, including the Barbara Ferrier Chemistry Research Award, the Bruker Prize in Chemical Spectroscopy and a Faculty of Science Excellence in Teaching Award.