POTSDAM -- Professor of Chemistry Dr. Fadi Bou-Abdallah has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to train a post-baccalaureate student in biophysical and molecular biology research in his laboratory at SUNY Potsdam.

The $64,016 National Science Foundation grant will enable Bou-Abdallah to provide an opportunity to a recent SUNY Potsdam graduate to engage in research activities and gain laboratory skills that they may have been deprived of because of the pandemic. The grant aims at developing the student's competency as a research scholar, and prepare them to pursue their graduate studies or their career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

Bou-Abdallah works extensively with undergraduates in his lab, supported by major grant funding to support his research. He currently has two ongoing grants from the NSF and the National Institutes for Health totaling more than $800,000 to support his research on the body's storage and release of iron, and how imbalances in those mechanisms may lead to iron-related diseases, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

His students often co-author papers published in research journals and present their findings at conferences, and many go on to graduate school and careers in the sciences -- including Aliaksandra Reutovich '22, who was named a Goldwater Scholar this spring, and hopes to pursue her MD/Ph.D. after graduation.

Earlier this summer, Bou-Abdallah was honored with the 2021 Outstanding Mentorship Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research's Division of Chemistry. The award recognizes exceptional mentoring and advising by higher education faculty across all subdisciplines of chemistry. Each award consists of a $500 cash prize to the recipient, a certificate of recognition, and a one-year individual membership to CUR. Bou-Abdallah was one of three professors from across the country selected for the honor.

SUNY Potsdam's Department of Chemistry offers a rigorous and well-balanced curriculum that provides a solid foundation for successful graduate study or a career in chemistry or a chemistry-related field. The department is known for its strong and diverse undergraduate research programs, its $3 million in grants to support teaching and research, and the success of its students' acceptance to competitive graduate and professional schools. To find out more, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Chem.