Lifetime Achievement Award for Renowned Chemistry Researcher

Lifetime Achievement Award for Renowned Chemistry Researcher

UKZN’s Professor Fernando Albericio received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Peptide Synthesis Conference (EPSC) 2024 in the Czech Republic for his outstanding contributions to the peptide synthesis community.

Albericio has published more than 900 papers, co-authored four books, filed over 60 patents, and supervised or co-supervised more than 80 PhD students and more than 100 master’s students over his almost 50-year career.

Born the oldest of two sons in Barcelona, Spain, in 1953 to an artist father and a homemaker mother, Albericio was inspired to pursue his studies in chemistry, physics, and biology by an influential teacher, specialising in chemistry at the University of Barcelona, where he first encountered peptides. These strings of amino acids form the building blocks of proteins.

He continued to PhD studies on fragment condensation for the synthesis of peptides, using traditional synthesis methods before the protected 9-fluorenyl methoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) group was commercially available and published his first paper in 1979 on his work on synthesised modified versions of histidine.

Albericio received his PhD in 1980, completing postdoctoral studies at Tufts University, the Université d’Aix-Marseille, and the University of Minnesota between 1981 and 1984. He then returned to his alma mater as a lecturer.

He left academia in 1992 to work as the Director of Peptide Research at Milligen-Biosearch in Boston in the United States, where he helped develop the Milligen 9050 peptide synthesiser and key protecting groups and activation strategies still in use today.

Albericio returned to the University of Barcelona as a full professor in 1995 and served as Executive Director of the Barcelona Science Park from 2005 to 2011, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. This dedication also bore fruit when he founded the “Emprendia” Network-Santander Bank, the first Latin American university network to incubate companies emerging from universities’ research and development. He was also the founding Rector of Yachay Tech in Ecuador.

Albericio joined UKZN in 2012 as a research professor, where he is involved in the University’s mission to transfer knowledge and technology to society.

He led the establishment of UKZN’s Peptide Science Laboratory and heads a group of researchers, postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students working to develop new technologies – reactions, building blocks, coupling reagents, solid phase supports, protecting groups, and linkers – for the synthesis of peptides.

The group is making peptide synthesis more eco-friendly and sustainable with improved solvents and protecting groups, synthesising peptides and small molecules that have potential for treating cancer and infectious diseases, and with the University of Barcelona and the University of Catania in Italy is developing new antimicrobial peptides.

Nanotechnology developments in the research group include developing new drug delivery systems and diagnostic strategies as part of the Horizon 20/20 programme sponsored by the European Community, involving six other international universities.

More than 30 of the commodities developed by Albericio’s group have reached the market; his work is so extensive that almost any peptide synthesised worldwide uses technology developed by his research group.

Albericio is ranked third among the best chemistry scientists in South Africa by Research.com and holds a prestigious A-rating from the National Research Foundation. He regularly features amongst UKZN’s Top 30 Published Researchers, is editor-in-chief of several scientific journals, and sits on the editorial boards of others.

He received the Murray Goodman Scientific Excellence and Mentorship Award in 2019 from the American Peptide Society and the 2024 Meienhofer Award from the Boulder Peptide Society in honour of his lifetime of achievement in peptide science.

The EPSC organisers congratulated Albericio on 50 years of innovation, technical leadership, and mentorship in peptide science.

Words: Christine Cuénod

Photograph: Supplied