David J. Vocadlo is a Canadian chemical biologist. He is a Tier 1

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Chemical Glycobiology and Professor of Chemistry at Simon Fraser University.

Early life and education

Vocadlo was born in

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, to a Czech father and a Finnish mother who met in Canada. Due to his father's job, Vocadlo lived overseas and in Montreal and Vancouver. He originally enrolled at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

with the intent on becoming an architect but switched to majoring in chemistry and biology. Following the completion of his undergraduate degree, Vocadlo he worked as a research assistant in the Biotechnology Laboratory at UBC which prompted him to continue his research. His thesis ''The catalytic mechanism of retaining

eta Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

glycosidases'' earned him the 2003 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Doctoral Prize. While completing his postdoctoral work at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, Vocadlo accepted a faculty position at Simon Fraser University (SFU) for the 2004–05 academic year.

Career

Upon joining the faculty at SFU as an assistant professor, Vocadlo focused his research on examining how human cells adapt to new situations with the end goal of developing treatments for Alzheimer’s or Type II diabetes. As a

in chemical glycobiology, Vocadlo synthesized a sugar-like molecule that helps inhibit the progression of Alzheimer's-like symptoms in mice. His work then expanded to focus on understanding and manipulating the enzymes that assemble and break down these glycoconjugates. By 2010, Vocadlo became the co-founder of Alectos Therapeutics Inc., a molecule drug company and was recognized with a Top 40 Under 40 Award. The following year, he also a recipient of a 2011 E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship for his investigative research. Vocadlo continued to focus on Alzheimer's disease and uncovered the role of carbohydrate structures in regards to health and disease. In 2013, his research was further recognized with the Horace S. Isbell Award from the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

. He was also re-appointed to his role as a Canada Research Chair in Chemical Glycobiology and named to the inaugural cohort of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.

Personal life

Vocadlo and his wife Krystyna have two children together.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vocadlo, David Living people People from Brantford Academic staff of Simon Fraser University Canada Research Chairs Canadian biochemists University of British Columbia alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian people of Czech descent Canadian people of Finnish descent