Prof. Yi Xiao and Prof. Wei-chen Chang Named LORD Distinguished Scholars by the College of Sciences

The College of Sciences has named Dr. Yi Xiao and Dr. Wei-chen Chang, associate professors in the Department of Chemistry, as the Hugh C. Lord, LORD Corporation Distinguished Scholar at NC State, and the Thomas Lord, LORD Corporation Distinguished Scholar at NC State, respectively. The distinguished professorship was made possible thanks to a gift from LORD Corporation.

Xiao joined the NC State faculty in 2021. Her research focuses on advancing biomaterials and biosensors for a variety of biotechnological applications. She is internationally recognized for engineering intelligent aptamers, developing innovative sensor platforms with ultra-high sensitivity and specificity, and designing new SELEX technologies for isolating novel and functionalized aptamers for small-molecule targets. Xiao has been working toward creating portable, commercially available devices for applications such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, drug screening, food safety, and therapy.

Chang joined the NC State faculty in 2016. He takes an interdisciplinary approach to research, incorporating bioorganic chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry and enzymology to tackle challenges in the field of metalloenzyme catalysis. Chang’s research focuses on comprehending the mechanisms of enzymes involved in natural product biosynthesis in order to develop chemo-enzymatic routes to essential compounds. Currently, he is building upon the molecular understanding of the enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of isonitrile-containing peptides found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with the end goal of preparing potential molecules to fight tuberculosis.