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Professor Anderson is one of the world’s leading
authorities on sugar chemistry. He earned his PhD at UW-Madison
and went on to become a biochemistry professor, a post he held
for 35 years. His years of retirement have not dimmed his interest
in the chemistry of sugars, and he has continued his service
by editing “Carbohydrate Research,” a journal covering all aspects
of carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry, for the first eight
years after retirement.
When Professor Shakhashiri expressed interest
in taking a closer look at the products and mechanism of the
“Blue Bottle” experiment, Professor Anderson joined WISL as
an honorary fellow and began working mostly with undergraduate
research students. With the availability of modern tools like
rapid scanning UV-visible spectrophotometers, HPLC, C-13 NMR
spectroscopy, the research group aimed to identify the products
and understand the mechanistic details of the air-oxidation
reaction of glucose in the presence of dyes such as methylene
blue. In 2012, he published a paper about his findings. Professor Anderson is a great asset to WISL—as a colleague
and as a mentor.
| The Blue Bottle Experiment |
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| Resazurin |
Methylene Blue |
Professor Anderson was awarded the Claude S.
Hudson Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry from the American Chemical
Society, and served the society’s Wisconsin section for
many years as both councilor and chairman. In 2006 he was honored
by the UW-Madison Biochemistry Department with the establishment
of the Laurens Anderson Chair in Biochemistry. The first holder,
Professor Laura Kiessling says, “I love Andy. He is a wonderful
carbohydrate chemist and I always benefit from both the wealth
of information he possesses and his insight.”
More information about Professor Kiessling
can be found here.
More information on Professor Anderson can
be found here.
Forgotten Molecules
The fruits of an emeritus professor's 40-year career in biochemistry are contributing to the modern search for new medications
From Grow, Wisconsin's Magazine for the Life Sciences
May 14, 2018
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