Rice University chemist Julian West has been recognized with a 2024 Eli Lilly Grantee Award, one of organic chemistry’s most prestigious early-career honors. Presented by drugmaker Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Grantee Awards are unsolicited and include a two-year, $100,000 unrestricted grant.
West, a synthetic organic chemist, joined Rice as a CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research in 2019. His lab uses creative advances in catalysis and other techniques to develop bioactive molecules, with a particular focus on precursor molecules that make it easier to design and manufacture drugs to fight cancer and other diseases.
The Norman Hackerman-Welch Young Investigator and assistant professor of chemistry, West’s early-career honors include a 2023 Cottrell Scholar Award and being named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list of top entrepreneurs, innovators and game-changers in 2020.
The Eli Lilly Grantee program supports emerging leaders in organic chemistry and is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s longest running grant programs. Grantees are selected based on the innovation and creativity of their research as well as its potential impact on the pharmaceutical industry.