Homecoming Lectures
Each fall during Homecoming, the department hosts a lecture from a UND chemistry alum.
We are proud of our UND alumni and look forward to hosting you at a future event.
2025 Alumni Lecture: Molecules to Medicines: From the Abbott Hall to Autoimmune Disease
Dr. Stacie J. Bell '91
Friday, Sept. 19 | 4 p.m. | Abbott Hall 101
Reception to be held prior to the lecture in Abbott Hall Room 232.
About Dr. Bell
Dr. Bell received a B.S. in Chemistry (ACS) at the University of North Dakota in May 1991. After having many offers for graduate school, she completed her PhD in Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University in May 1995 focusing on protein-nucleic acid interactions for chemotherapy. Dr. Bell furthered her training by completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado with the advisement of Nobel laureate Dr. Thomas Cech, and secondary certifications in clinical pharmacology and clinical science.
Dr. Bell initially pursued a career in biopharma with 25+ years of diverse experience in biotechnology, discovery research, drug and device development, scientific strategy, education and patient centricity with a cross functional focus on clinical development and medical affairs. She has been involved with all phases and functional lines of the pre-clinical research and clinical development process in several therapeutic areas, including infectious diseases, immunology, rheumatology, dermatology, and has worked extensively with the FDA, NIH and NHC. The resulting work has led to medications currently used to improve the lives of patients. In 2017, Dr. Bell transitioned to the nonprofit sector and served as Chief Scientific and Medical Officer for the National Psoriasis Foundation, leading the community through the pandemic and helping define psoriasis as a systemic condition. As Chief Clinical Research Officer, she currently leads Lupus Therapeutics, the clinical affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance and oversees the LuCIN clinical trial network, a variety of partnerships advancing treatment development in lupus, and the patient engagement and education functions. She has served in several leadership roles throughout the years, has been a member on numerous boards and committees, and through her own company has consulted for late-stage discovery and clinical development programs. She has been the therapeutic area and program lead for her organizations.
Dr. Bell has been involved in filing dozens of Investigational New Drug (IND) applications and New Drug Applications (NDAs) for drug approvals. She holds several patents and has authored more than 100 papers, abstracts and chapters, as well as giving hundreds of invited presentations, congressional briefings, panels and leading clinical conferences. Throughout her career she has been dedicated to optimizing treatment options for unmet patient needs, promoting education, improving access to care, fostering partnership to progress programs and taking innovative approaches for strategic advances. Dr. Bell is a dynamic leader and researcher who is passionate about sharing enthusiasm for chemistry in the clinic.
Abstract
The core of understanding human disease and treatment is molecular chemistry and biochemistry. From atomic to protein-nucleic acid interactions, enzymatic reactions and signaling pathways, chemistry determines overall health and dysfunction, resulting in a variety of diseases. Gaining knowledge to define the chemical and biological contributors to disease involves a multidisciplinary approach to evaluation and experimentation. The molecular structure and dynamics in the context of cellular function can explain the organ and system processes but require expansion of chemistry to biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology and clinical medicine.
The presentation will review a UND chemistry graduate’s career journey while outlining scientific and clinical research that define nucleic acid-protein interactions for new chemotherapies, telomere biology, zinc finger proteins in transcriptional repression for genomic cures, protein decoration for therapeutics, targeting bacteria replication for anti-infectives, exploiting signaling pathways for new medicines, biological products that mimic physiology, altering the molecular structure of tissue for improved function, nutrition for human health and understanding autoimmune and immune-mediated disease with new treatment paradigms to save and change lives. Throughout, the importance of collaboration across academics, government, industry, policy makers and non-profit organizations will be highlighted to truly translate the bench to bedside for better health.
2025 Alumni Virtual Panel
Wednesday, Sept. 17 | 12:20 - 1:20 p.m. CT
Meeting ID: 997 9844 4379; Passcode: chemistry
Previous Homecoming Lectures
Presents: Who's Teaching Who? Still Learning after 25 Years of Teaching.
Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry - Elmhurst University, Chicago, Ill.
2024 Alumni Virtual Panel
2023 Alumni Lecturer
- Principal Investigator, Genetics and Pre-eclampsia Study, Turtle Mountain Community College, Belcourt, ND
- Investigator, Strong Heart Study, Missouri Breaks Industries Research Inc, Eagle Butte, SD
2023 Alumni Virtual Panel
2022 Alumni Lecturer
Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Presents: All Life is an Experiment . . . a UND Chemist's Adventure!
2022 Alumni Virtual Panel
Dr. Sandra Hazelton Pratt, '09
Dr. Run "Rain" Li, '17
Dr. Jana Rousova Hepner, '17
Dr. Jason Hicks, '18
Dr. Yuhui Jin, '09
2021 Alumni Lecturer
Research Fellow in the Performance Coatings Group,General Industrial, Valspar
Presents: The Use of Electrochemical Methods to Study Coatings and Corrosion
Alumni Virtual Panel
Dr. Aize Li, 2010
Dr. Inna Popova,2008
Dr. Jiao Chen, 2014
Dr. Julius Ngwendson, 2008
2020 Alumni Lecturer
Senior R&D Manager, EMD Performance Materials, Sheboygan WI.
Presents: Synthetic Chemists & the Semiconductor Industry
Alumni Virtual Panel
Dr. Anastasia Andrianova, 2017
CEO, Inventor & Founding Member of HepQuant, Greenwood Village, CO
Presents: Measuring the Liver’s Function
St. Luke's Hospital - Duluth, MN
Presents: A Special Kind of Crazy
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Tennessee Tech
Presents: A career path is never a straight line
Associate Dean of Natural Sciences, College of Letters & Science University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Presents: My Journey Exploring the Role of Iron in Biological Systems
President, Trinidad State Junior College Trinidad, CO
Presents: Education Matters.
General Manager, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control Center Takeda R&D
Presents: “Concrete Chemistry: Opportunities for an Organic Chemist
Global Leader for Biotechnology Registration and Operations at Dow AgroSciences
Presents: A Global Perspective on Plant Genome Editing Technologies: Applications and Regulatory Outlook
Professor of Pathology and Bioengineering at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Presents: Regenerating the Heart: A Journey from Chemistry Major to Stem Cell Biologist
Professor of Chemistry,Department of Chemistry, College of Letters and Science, UCDavis
Presents: Nucleic Acid Chemical Biology: Studies in RNA interference and RNA editing.
Dr. Patrick Shum, Ph.D. 1988, A Journey of Chemistry: From the Peace Garden State to Interstate 95
Dr. Jeffrey Banning, Ph.D. 1987
Dr. Kathryn Uhrich, B.S. 1986
Dr. Bonnie Avery, Ph.D. 1994
Dr. Arlan Norman, B.S. 1962
Dr. Dan Dutton, M.S. 1970 & Ph.D. 1973
Dr. Curt M. White, M.S. 1974
Dr. Fathi M. Saad, Ph.D. 1970
Dr. Richard J. Paur, B.S. 1967 & M.S. 1968
Dr. Sean G. Dwyer, B.S. 1966 & Ph.D. 1970
Leon D. Royer, M.S. 1962
Dr. Francis Randall, Ph.D. 1970
Dr. Ray A. Dickie, B.S. 1961
Dr. Owen Webster, B.S. 1951
Dr. Darryl Fahey, B.S. 1964 & Ph.D. 1969
Dr. Arlan Norman, B.S. 1962
Dr. Joyce Yagla Corey, B.S. 1960 & M.S. 1961
Dr. Marion Swendseid, B.A. 1938 & M.A. 1939
Dr. Victor Hruby, B.S. 1960 & M.S. 1962