Donations made to this fund are used by the department for short and long-term programs to enrich student education, training, research, and career development.

This fund was started by an alumnus to provide summer research experiences to undergraduate biochemistry students who are interested in pursuing graduate studies in biochemistry.

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This scholarship seeks to offset the cost of tuition by providing a scholarship to a biochemistry student, with preference for applicants who are first in their family to attend college and demonstrate financial need. Established by friends and former students, the Dr. Stephen G. Sligar Biochemistry Undergraduate Scholarship Fund honors the longtime Illinois biochemistry professor. Dr. Sligar has had a distinguished career at the university beginning with his PhD in physics in 1975 and postdoctoral research in the Department of Biochemistry. He served on the faculty at Yale University before joining the UIUC biochemistry faculty in 1982. He has been director of the School of Chemical Sciences and the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology. Dr. Sligar now holds the Swanlund Endowed Chair.

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This award is given to graduate student teaching assistants and faculty who have devoted themselves to delivering high-quality education in the Department of Biochemistry. The award, established by a former student, honors Professor Switzer’s impact and dedication to education. Dr. Switzer, whose career at the University of Illinois spanned forty years, studied the regulation of bacterial metabolism by allosteric enzymes, the control of enzyme degradation and novel mechanisms for the regulation of gene expression, with an emphasis on transcriptional attenuation. He also co-authored a seminal textbook, Experimental Biochemistry.

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Professor Conrad was a long-time faculty member of the Department of Biochemistry, valued by his colleagues and students alike. To honor him and his many academic contributions to the field and the university, the Dr. Edward Conrad Biochemistry Undergraduate Scholarship Fund supports the research of an undergraduate student in biochemistry. After positions at Mead Johnson & Company and the U.S. Army Medical Nutrition Laboratory, Dr. Conrad joined the University of Illinois faculty in 1962. In 1989, Ed was named a Jubilee Professor of Biochemistry. He built his career around biochemical studies of heparin, other polysaccharides, and carbohydrates.

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Dr. Hager's national biochemistry leadership, creative research, and warm interactions with his students and associates are recognized by this fund, which provides support for biochemistry PhD students who demonstrate exceptional achievement, independence in research, and originality of thought. The late Lowell P. Hager received his PhD from UIUC and was eventually recruited back to his alma mater, where he rose through the professorial ranks in the Department of Biochemistry. He served as head from 1969 to 1988, building a strong tradition of scientific excellence and collegiality in the department. His research program contributed immensely to the fields of biochemistry and biophysics, particularly in the area of metallo- and hemeproteins. He discovered the halogenating enzyme, chloroperoxidase. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1995.

This fund, established by an alumnus, provides financial support for graduate students who present their work at scientific conferences, attend training workshops, or participate in special research projects.

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Professor Herbert E. Carter was a UIUC alumnus (PhD, ’34, chemistry) and faculty member who conducted pioneering work that determined the structure of sphingosine, from which he coined the term “sphingolipids” to encompass the family of cerebrosides, sphingomyelins, and gangliosides that are associated with the brain and nervous system. With professor William Rose he discovered the essential amino acid threonine and determined its structure. Carter also made significant contributions to the structural knowledge of glycolipids and antibiotics. In 1953 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.