Ellen Sletten
{{short description|American chemist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Ellen M. Sletten
| workplaces = University of California, Los Angeles
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| alma_mater = Stonehill College
University of California, Berkeley
| thesis_title = Bioorthogonal Chemistries for Labeling Living Systems
| thesis_url = http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/785811176
| thesis_year = 2011
| doctoral_advisor = Carolyn R. Bertozzi
| known_for = Bioorthogonal Chemistry
| website = [https://slettengroup.chem.ucla.edu/ Sletten Group]
}}
Ellen Sletten is an American chemist who is the John McTague Career Development Chair at University of California, Los Angeles. Her research considers the use of physical organic chemistry for diagnostics and medical therapies.
Early life and education
Sletten was born in New Hampshire.{{Cite journal|last1=Sletten|first1=Ellen M.|last2=Bertozzi|first2=Carolyn R.|date=2009|title=Bioorthogonal Chemistry: Fishing for Selectivity in a Sea of Functionality|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English|volume=48|issue=38|pages=6974–6998|doi=10.1002/anie.200900942|issn=1433-7851|pmc=2864149|pmid=19714693}} She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry at Stonehill College, a liberal arts school in Easton, Massachusetts.{{Cite web|title=Sletten, Ellen M. {{!}} UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry|url=https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/directory/sletten-ellen-m|access-date=2020-11-15|website=www.chemistry.ucla.edu|language=en}} Her undergraduate dissertation considered the stereospecific synthesis of pyrrolizidines that could be used as glycosidase inhibitors.{{Cite web|title=Ellen Sletten – slettengroup.chem.ucla.edu|url=https://slettengroup.chem.ucla.edu/ellen-sletten/|access-date=2020-11-15|language=en-US}} She moved to the West Coast of the United States for her graduate studies, joining the laboratory of Carolyn R. Bertozzi at the University of California, Berkeley to work on bioorthogonal chemistry. In particular, Sletten made use of bioorthogonal chemistry for the labelling of living systems, and the synthesis of cyclooctyne reagents in copper-free click chemistry After graduating, Sletten joined the laboratory of Timothy M. Swager at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, Sletten worked on fluorescence-based sensors and novel approaches to complex emulsions.{{Cite web|title=NIH Director's New Innovator Award {{!}} UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry|url=https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/nih-directors-new-innovator-award-0|access-date=2020-11-15|website=www.chemistry.ucla.edu}}{{Cite web|title=A simple way to make and reconfigure complex emulsions|url=https://news.mit.edu/2015/simple-method-for-complex-emulsions-0225|access-date=2020-11-15|website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology|language=en}}
Research and career
In 2015 Sletten was appointed to the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her research considers the use of physical organic chemistry for diagnostics and medical therapies. In 2017 she realised non-toxic fluorescent compounds that emit in the short-wave infrared region (1000 – 2000 nm), making them appropriate for rapid, in vivo optical diagnostics.{{Cite journal|last1=Cosco|first1=Emily D.|last2=Caram|first2=Justin R.|last3=Bruns|first3=Oliver T.|last4=Franke|first4=Daniel|last5=Day|first5=Rachael A.|last6=Farr|first6=Erik P.|last7=Bawendi|first7=Moungi G.|last8=Sletten|first8=Ellen M.|date=2017|title=Flavylium Polymethine Fluorophores for Near- and Shortwave Infrared Imaging|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition|language=en|volume=56|issue=42|pages=13126–13129|doi=10.1002/anie.201706974|pmid=28806473|issn=1521-3773|doi-access=free}} At the time, short-wave infrared imaging was widely used in astronomy, but Sletten led its expansion into clinical applications.{{Cite web|title=Novel medical imaging approach unlocks potential for improved diagnoses and interventions|url=https://phys.org/news/2020-10-medical-imaging-approach-potential-interventions.html|access-date=2020-11-15|website=phys.org|language=en}} Short-wave infrared light doesn't scatter much in human tissue, and results in low tissue fluorescence compared to the near-infrared light.{{Cite web|title=Ellen Sletten {{!}} Princeton University Department of Chemistry|url=https://chemistry.princeton.edu/seminars-events/ellen-sletten-0|access-date=2020-11-15|website=chemistry.princeton.edu}} By combining the short-wave infrared (flavylium heterocycle-based) fluorophore with lasers and an appropriate camera, Sletten showed it was possible to capture multi-colour images of the veins and arteries of moving mice. As the imaging system could provide real-time feedback, it could be used for image-guided surgery. She has explored the use of nanomaterials containing fluorine for personalised medicine.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
Selected publications
- {{Cite journal|last1=Sletten|first1=Ellen M.|last2=Bertozzi|first2=Carolyn R.|date=2009|title=Bioorthogonal Chemistry: Fishing for Selectivity in a Sea of Functionality|url= |journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition|language=en|volume=48|issue=38|pages=6974–6998|doi=10.1002/anie.200900942|issn=1521-3773|pmc=2864149|pmid=19714693}}
- {{Cite journal|last1=Sletten|first1=Ellen M.|last2=Bertozzi|first2=Carolyn R.|date=2011-09-20|title=From Mechanism to Mouse: A Tale of Two Bioorthogonal Reactions|journal=Accounts of Chemical Research|volume=44|issue=9|pages=666–676|doi=10.1021/ar200148z|pmid=21838330|pmc=3184615|issn=0001-4842|doi-access=free}}
- {{Cite journal|last1=Jewett|first1=John C.|last2=Sletten|first2=Ellen M.|last3=Bertozzi|first3=Carolyn R.|date=2010-03-24|title=Rapid Cu-Free Click Chemistry with Readily Synthesized Biarylazacyclooctynones|url= |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=132|issue=11|pages=3688–3690|doi=10.1021/ja100014q|issn=0002-7863|pmc=2840677|pmid=20187640}}
Awards and honours
- 2009 American Chemical Society Division of Organic Chemistry Graduate Fellowship{{Cite web|title=Graduate Research Fellowships {{!}} ACS Division of Organic Chemistry|url=https://www.organicdivision.org/fellowships/|access-date=2020-11-15|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Winners Of Graduate Organic Fellowships Announced|url=https://cen.acs.org/articles/87/i44/Winners-Graduate-Organic-Fellowships-Announced.html|access-date=2020-11-15|website=Chemical & Engineering News|language=en}}
- 2018 Thieme Chemistry Journal Award{{Cite web|title=Previous Winners - Thieme Chemistry - Georg Thieme Verlag|url=https://www.thieme.de/en/thieme-chemistry/thieme-chemistry-journals-award-previous-winners-107365.htm|access-date=2020-11-15|website=Thieme|language=en-GB}}
- 2018 Alpha Chi Sigma Glenn T. Seaborg Award{{Cite web|title=2018 UCLA Alpha Chi Sigma (AXΣ) Glenn Seaborg Award {{!}} UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry|url=https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/2018-ucla-alpha-chi-sigma-ax%CF%83-glenn-seaborg-award|access-date=2020-11-15|website=www.chemistry.ucla.edu}}
- 2018 Sloan Research Fellowship{{Cite web|title=2018 Sloan Research Fellowships {{!}} UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry|url=https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/2018-sloan-research-fellowships|access-date=2020-11-15|website=www.chemistry.ucla.edu}}
- 2018 NIH Director's New Innovator Award
- 2019 American Chemical Society Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Young Investigator Award{{Cite web|title=2019 ACS PMSE Young Investigator {{!}} UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry|url=https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/2019-acs-pmse-young-investigator|access-date=2020-11-15|website=www.chemistry.ucla.edu}}
- 2020 International Chemical Biology Society Young Chemical Biologist Award{{Cite web|title=2020 ICBS Young Chemical Biologist award {{!}} UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry|url=https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/2020-icbs-young-chemical-biologist-award|access-date=2020-11-15|website=www.chemistry.ucla.edu}}
References
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Category:Stonehill College alumni
Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni
Category:University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:American women chemists
Category:21st-century American women