chemistry

Kathryn Uhrich

Kathryn Uhrich is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kathryn Uhrich rather than just read about it. In short: Kathryn Uhrich (born 1965) is Dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, at The University of California, Riverside, and founder of Polymerix Corporation. She has received many awards for her research and work including the ACS Buck-Whitney Award and the Sioux Award.

Key takeaways

Kathryn Uhrich belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kathryn Uhrich to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kathryn Uhrich from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kathryn Uhrich (born 1965) is Dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, at The University of California, Riverside, and founder of Polymerix Corporation. She has received many awards for her research and work including the ACS Buck-Whitney Award and the Sioux Award. She was a fellow at both the National Academy of Inventors and the American Chemical Society in 2014.

Research Her research mainly focuses on biodegradable polymers for use in dental and medical applications. These polymers consist of esters, amides and anhydrides, all of which are susceptible to hydrolysis, thus ensuring the breakdown of the polymer in the body's watery milieu. The oldest version of aspirin came from Hippocrates in the fifth century BC, while the latest version, PolyAspirin, comes from Uhrich's lab at Rutgers University. Polyaspirine consists of anhydrides and esters that hydrolytically degrade into the active ingredient in aspirin (salicylic acid). Her research was highlighted in "Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug" by Diarmuid Jeffreys. Although the polymer was originally designed for biodegradable sutures, PolyAspirin is now undergoing clinical trials as a material for a new type of cardiac stent. This biodegradable stent controls the inflammation effects occurring after angioplasty, called restenosis and disappears when no longer needed.

Uhrich has collaborated with Professor Michael Tchikindas in the Rutgers Food Science department to investigate PolyAspirin and other plant-based polymers as a method for prevention of biofilm formation by microbes such as E. coli and Salmonella in food. In 1997, Uhrich first patented PolyAspirin. All of Uhrich's inventions were originally licensed to Polymerix Corporation in 2000, to develop biodegradable polymerized drugs, and now being licensed through Rutgers. The technology includes more efficient delivery to targeted areas such as orthopedic implants, coronary stents and arthritic joints. Uhrich has at least 16 patents in the US and 160 patent applications pending worldwide, all of which are coordinated by Rutgers OCLTT. Uhrich's second research line is on polymeric micelles. Like soap, these polymers have a hydrophilic 'head' and a hydrophobic 'tail'. These molecules form a spherical particle in which you can pack a hydrophobic drug molecule. Uhrich's research group investigates two general classes of nanoscale polymeric micelles: amphiphilic star-like macromolecules (ASMs) and amphiphilic scorpion-like macromolecules (AScMs); both systems facilitate drug transport. ASMs behave as unimolecular micelles, where four polymer particles are covalently bound. AScMs consist of part of the star like macromolecules, and must first aggregate to form micellar structures. Because AScMs are easier to synthesize and have similar properties, the polymers are undergoing further proof of principle research in gene delivery of siRNA and plasmid DNA with Professor Charlie Roth. Also, the anionic (negatively charged) scorpion-like molecules inhibit cellular uptake of oxidized LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol in the body. This type of LDL is usually incorporated in macrophages, resulting in foam cell formation and formation of an atherosclerotic plaque which narrows or blocks the arteries. Contrary to most anti-atherosclerotic drugs, the anionic polymer only targets LDL particles and not HDL particles. The delivery of these polymeric particles is now undergoing investigation with Professor Prabhas Moghe. Thirdly, her group is interested in micro-sized striped patterns of protein (such as serum albumin, immunoglobulin G, laminin and other growth factors) on biocompatible polymeric substrates (such as poly(methylmethacrylate) or PMMA). These proteins promote neuron cell growth, but are not always large enough to bridge the gap caused by injury and restore function to the nerve. Thus, Uhrich investigates the optimal dimensions for promoting neuronal growth in conjugation with Professors Helen Buettner, Martin Grumet and David Shreiber, and the most effective patterning method to generate protein gradients. More recently, Uhrich's group is collaborating with Professor Sally Meiners of UMDNJ to create nerve guidance conduits from biodegradable polymers.

Awards 2014, Fellow, American Chemical Society 2014, Fellow, National Academy of Inventors 2013, Sioux Award, 2013, Common Pathways Award, New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research 2007, Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, Finalist, New York Academy of Science 2006, Hall of Fame: Technology (Polymerix), New Jersey Technology Council 2005, New Jersey's Top Pharmaceutical Companies (Polymerix), NJBiz 2005, ACS Buck-Whitney Award 2004, Outstanding Scientist – New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research 2003, Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award: Medical/Technology Transfer, Research and Development Council of New Jersey 2003, Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering 2000–2004, National Science Foundation CAREER Award 1996–1998, Johnson & Johnson Discovery Award, Johnson & Johnson Inc.

Education Grand Forks Central High School University of North Dakota, B.S. 1986 Cornell University, M.S. 1989 Cornell University, Ph.D. 1992

Professional career researcher in the division of Lithographic Materials and Chemical Engineering, AT&T Bell Laboratories, 1992–1993 researcher in the Corporate Research Laboratories, Eastman Kodak Company, 1990 researcher for the Energy Research Center, 1984–1986

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kathryn Uhrich

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kathryn Uhrich claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kathryn Uhrich before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kathryn Uhrich ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kathryn Uhrich

In research: Kathryn Uhrich appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kathryn Uhrich in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kathryn Uhrich is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1965 births, 21st-century American women, American organic chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kathryn Uhrich outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kathryn Uhrich in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kathryn Uhrich means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kathryn Uhrich out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kathryn Uhrich in simple terms?

Why does Kathryn Uhrich matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kathryn Uhrich?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kathryn Uhrich.