Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | fall 2006
Ed Yeung

 


FALL 2006
Home

Cover Story:
>> Good Chemistry

Feature Story:
An Exemplary Leader

Feature Story:
Special Olympics USA National Games

Feature Story:
Alumni Days 2006

Alumni Profile:
The reigning queen of concrete

Alumni Profile:
Major wager

Departments:
Getting Started
Letters
Around Campus
Association News
Giving
Sports



ED YEUNG, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR IN LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES, ROBERT ALLEN WRIGHT PROFESSOR
IN SCIENCE, ONE IS NOT THE LONELIEST NUMBER

One may be the loneliest number in a relationship. But in the fight against viral infections, the ability to isolate and detect a single copy of a virus will hold the key to more effectively controlling – and possibly curing – many diseases, from cervical cancer to AIDS.

Edward Yeung, distinguished professor in liberal arts and sciences, professor of chemistry, and director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory’s Chemical and Biological Sciences Program, has developed technology that allows his research team to isolate the Human Papillomavirus infection, a sexually transmitted disease that may result in cervical cancer for infected women. This early detection is essential to preventing the cancer.

“With this new patent-pending technology, doctors may become 100 percent effective in destroying the virus with the creation of new medicines to stop the
formation of cancer,” Yeung said. “Any virus can be detected, from AIDS to Avian Influenza (bird flu).”

Yeung said the new technology still has five to 10 years of required clinical trials at the federal level before it could become widely used by the medical community.

One of Iowa State’s most highly regarded scientists, Yeung also is doing state-of-the-art research in metabolomics – the emerging science of measurement and analysis of metabolites, such as sugars and fats, in the cells of organisms.

“This research has the potential to take Iowa’s crops to the next level of value,” Yeung said. “If we can control how things are made in plants by understanding the specific chemical reactions, we can make a crop grow more efficiently for particular uses, from pharmaceuticals to biomass for energy generation.”

The entrepreneurial and discovery processes are basic to all of Yeung’s work at Iowa State, from his early research on a DNA sequencer to his latest work to increase the magnification of the most powerful microscopes so that the tiniest areas of cells will become visible.

Yeung’s research is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and other agencies. His work has resulted in four R&D 100 Awards by R&D Magazine, recognizing the top 100 products of technological significance that were marketed or licensed during a calendar year.

In 2004, the Iowa Intellectual Property Law Association named Yeung the Iowa Inventor of the Year. In 2003, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy personally appointed him as the first recipient of the Robert Allen Wright Chair at Iowa State. In his
30 years at Iowa State, Yeung has received 22 patents and currently has two pending. He has licensed eight of his patents or patent applications and helped to found an Ames business, CombiSep, Inc., located in the ISU Research Park.

In his personal life, Yeung is anything but a one-note person. He enjoys playing the violin and has collected many of the instruments, including some rare models. The music allows Yeung to connect with a more relaxing form of creativity.

“I have been playing the violin since high school,” he said. “I enjoy the classics but I have played with several local groups and experimented with different musical styles.”

Read on | Mei Hong: Bacteria Buster

About the Writer | Kevin Brown is a freelance writer from Pleasant Hill, Iowa.