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Feb.
18, 2003 |
Internationally Renowned Biochemist Will Lead
Biocatalysis and Bioengineering Research Constellation
 Robert
J. Linhardt, a world-leading carbohydrate chemist, has been appointed
a senior constellation chair in biocatalysis and metabolic engineering
at Rensselaer.
"Dr. Linhardt is an outstanding scientist
who is highly regarded for his intellect and his scholarship,"
said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. "Dr. Linhardt's
collaborative spirit, his abilities as a consummate educator,
and his visionary research will add a new dimension to the exciting
advancements in biotechnology research at Rensselaer."
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Linhardt is internationally known
for his research on the study of bioactive carbohydrates,
particularly the complex polysaccharide heparin (shown above). |
Linhardt is internationally known for his research
on the study of bioactive carbohydrates, particularly the complex
polysaccharide heparin. Heparin is a major clinical anticoagulant
with more than 500 million doses used worldwide each year. Heparin
and related molecules exhibit a large number of newly discovered
biological activities and have great therapeutic potential.
Linhardt's research extends far beyond the fundamental
paradigms in bioengineering. He has been a leader in developing
new and better therapeutic agents, from small molecules to polymeric
materials. From his research with Dr. Judah Folkman on the antiangiogenic
activity of heparin, to the discovery that low molecular weight
heparins act as anti-thrombotic agents, to his present efforts
in vaccine development, Linhardt has consistently tackled complex
problems that have direct societal benefit.
Linhardt was a co-discoverer, along with Dr. Robert
Langer of MIT, of polyanhydrides as drug carriers. This led to
the successful clinical application of polyanhydride-based drug
delivery agents for the treatment of advanced brain cancer.
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