DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Affiliations

President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago

Neena B. Schwartz Professor of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN)

Chemistry of Life Processes Institute (CLP)

Lurie Cancer Center

Research Statement

The Kelley Group uses a highly multidisciplinary approach to develop new tools for the diagnosis of disease and the development of new disease therapies. A variety of projects are underway that focus on the development of biomolecular sensors, phenotypic screening platforms and molecular delivery vectors. We use cutting-edge techniques including CRISPR screening and cellular engineering to develop innovative new solutions for biomedicine. Our research group includes students, postdoctoral fellows and research professors with scientific backgrounds spanning chemistry, biology, engineering and many other fields. Over the ten years, we have generated ~ 200 publications, ~ 50 Ph.D. students / postdoctoral trainees, and have started three new companies based on technologies developed in the group. Our trainees have taken exciting positions at top-tier universities and companies around the world.

Selected Publications

Z. Wang, S. Ahmed, M. Labib, H. Wang, X. Hu, J. Wei, Y. Yao, J. Moffat,  E.H. Sargent, S.O. Kelley  Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2022, 6, 108-117. "Efficient Recovery of Potent Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Through Quantitative Immunomagnetic Cell Sorting”

J. Das, S. Gomis, J.B. Chen, H. Yousefi, S. Ahmed, A. Mahmud, W. Zhou, E. H. Sargent, S.O. Kelley, Nature Chemistry, 14, 428-434 (2021). “Reagentless Biomolecular Analysis Using a Nanoscale Molecular Pendulum.”

H. Yousefi, A. Mahmud, D. Chang, J. Das, S. Gomis, J.B. Chen, H. Wang, T. Been, L.Yip, E. Coomes, Z. Li, S. Mubareka, A. McGeer, N. Christie, S. Gray-Owen, A. Cochrane, J.M. Rini, E.H. Sargent, S.O. Kelley, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 143, 1722-1727 (2021). “Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Viral Particles using Direct, Reagent-Free Electrochemical Sensing.” 

M. Labib, Z. Wang, S.U. Ahmed, R.M. Mohamadi, B. Duong, B. Green, E.H. Sargent, S.O. Kelley, Nature Biomedical Engineering, 5, 41-52 (2021). “Tracking the Expression of Therapeutic Protein Targets in Rare Cells by Antibody-Mediated Nanoparticle Labelling and Magnetic Sorting.”

B. Mair, P.M. Aldridge, R.S. Atwal, D. Philpott, M. Zhang, S.N. Masud, M. Labib, A.H.Y. Tong, E.H. Sargent, S. Angers, J. Moffat, S.O. Kelley, Nature Biomedical Engineering, 3, 796-805 (2019). “High-Throughput Genome-Wide Phenotypic Screening via Immunomagnetic Cell Sorting.”

M. Labib, R.M. Mohamadi, M. Poudineh, S.U. Ahmed, I. Ivanov, C.L. Huang, M. Moosavi, E.H. Sargent, S.O. Kelley, Nature Chemistry,10, 489-495, (2018). "Single Cell mRNA Cytometry via Sequence-Specific Nanoparticle Clustering and Trapping."

M. Poudineh, P.M. Aldridge, S. Ahmed, B.J. Green, L. Kermanshah, V. Nguyen, C. Tu, R.M. Mohamadi, R.K. Nam, A. Hansen, S.S. Sridhar, A. Finelli, N.E. Fleshner, A.M. Joshua,  E.H. Sargent, S.O. Kelley, Nature Nanotechnology, 12, 274-282, (2017). “Tracking the Dynamics of Circulating Tumor Cell Phenotypes Using Nanoparticle-Mediated Magnetic Ranking.” 

S. Wisnovsky, S.R. Jean, S.O. Kelley, Nature Chemical Biology, 12, 567-573 (2016). "Mitochondrial DNA Repair and Replication Proteins Revealed by Targeted Chemical Probes." 

J. Das, I. Ivanov, E.H. Sargent, S.O. Kelley, Nature Chemistry, 7, 569-575 (2015). “An Electrochemical Clamp Assay for Direct, Rapid Analysis of Circulating Nucleic Acids in Serum.” 

Selected Honors/Awards

• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2023
•  ACS Doolittle Award, 2022
• Guggenheim Fellowship, 2022
• Fellow, Royal Society of Canada, 2021
• Order of Ontario, 2021
• AFPC Pfizer Award, 2020
• Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Rowland Institute, Harvard University, 2018
• ACS Nanoscience Award, 2017
• Somorjai Visiting Miller Professorship (UC Berkeley), 2017
• SLAS Innovation Award, 2016
• NSERC Brockhouse Award, 2016
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, 2016
• Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, 2016
• University of Toronto Distinguished Professor Award, 2013
• Steacie Prize, 2011
• University of Toronto Inventor of the Year, 2011
• NSERC  E.W.R Steacie Fellowship, 2010
• Named one of "Canada's Top 40 under 40" by Globe & Mail/Caldwell Part, 2008
• Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award, 2006
• Camille Drefus Teacher-Scholar Award, 2005
• TR100: Voted one of the top 100 innovators by Technology Review Magazine, 2004
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, 2004
• NSF CAREER Award, 2004
• Dreyfus New Faculty Award, 2000
• Research Innovation Award, 2000