In 2001, the ACS Orlando Section established the Avogadro Award to be presented to an outstanding senior project at the State Science and Engineering Fair. Other Sections in Florida were encouraged to support the award, and it is presented yearly as a joint effort.
The 2026 award winner is Nicholas R. Stan (pictured right), a student at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. Nicholas’ project was entitled “Enhancing the Oncotoxic Effects of Mitochondrial-targeting D-(KLAKLAK)2 Peptide by Improving Cell Membrane Permeability via Chemical Conjugation with Imidazopyidinium.” The judges in the senior chemistry section unanimously chose this project because of its strong chemistry content and the obvious knowledge of the student.
The Orlando Section extends its gratitude to Darlene Slattery and DK Weerasinghe for judging the fair and awarding the Avogadro Award along with thanks to the Pensacola Section and the South Florida Section of ACS for contributing to the monetary award for the prize.
Abstract
Prior research has indicated that the synthetic peptide D-(KLAKLAK)2 and its analogues (D-KLAKLAK and D-KLAK) exhibit potent cancer toxicity (oncotoxicity) and pro-apoptotic activity when internalized in mammalian cancer cells. The limitations of these peptides as therapeutic agents, however, are cancer specificity and membrane permeability. Research on tumor-homing peptides to attach to these kinds of peptides has had relative success in conferring specificity, but remain inefficient in promoting membrane permeability. Therefore, the only remaining problem is membrane permeability. The study conducted investigates chemical grafting of IP+ (imidazopyridinium) on to D-(KLAKLAK)2 and its analogues, and its effect on cellular permeability. IP+ is a heterocycle designed to facilitate the diffusion of large peptides across the cell membrane, and this study tested if grafting IP+ onto D-(KLAKLAK)2 and its analogues would improve its ability to diffuse across the cell membrane, which could aid in the development of a cancer therapeutic based on this peptide or others. Experimental methods included preparing D-(KLAKLAK)2 and its analogues, and grafting IP+ and a chloroalkane tag onto them. The effects of IP+ grafting were evaluated by running Chloroalkane Penetration Assays (CAQPA) on HEK293 cells in order to assess to what degree the peptides with or without IP+ could access the cytosol of the cells. Results indicated that IP+ significantly enhanced the intracellular localization of D-(KLAKLAK)2 and D-KLAK compared to controls lacking IP+. These results support the hypothesis and suggest that combining D-(KLAKLAK)2, a tumor-targeting peptide, and IP+ may provide a promising approach for developing broad-spectrum cancer therapeutics in the future.
April Event:Central Florida Earth Day at Lake Eola Park, Orlando, FL
The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) will be participating in the 21st annual Central Florida Earth Day event at Lake Eola Park (east side), 512 E. Washington Street Orlando, FL on Saturday April 25th, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. The ACS-Orlando booth has been assigned Site #4 in the vendor area located on the international bridge. Please refer to the map below for guidance:
Greetings ACS Orlando Section, I wanted to send a brief newsletter with several updates and activities around our local section. The newsletter informs councilor report with updates on upcoming ACS National Election. You will also find details about the student travel awards and the Avogadro Award provided by our local section. This year we had generous donation from Dr. Darlene Slattery, the 2025 Gordon L. Nelson Award recipient, to boost the student travel awards. We will celebrate the 21st annual Central Florida Earth Day event at Lake Eola Park on April 25, 2026. Please attend the event, if you can. We are also planning a Summer Social event in June 2026. Please stay tuned for more details on the Summer Social. Please share with us your ideas for programming that you would like to see in the Central Florida area – our contact information is below! I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely Toufiq Reza
Councilor Talking Points: Summary of Governance Issues and Actions
This report captures key actions and decisions from the ACS Council meeting on March 25 and the Board of Directors meetings held March 20–22, 2026, offering an overview of developments impacting the Orlando Section. Prepared by Laura Sessions and Nicole Lapeyrouse, Orlando Section Councilors.
Election Results Council selected Laura Sremaniak and Lisa McElwee‑White as candidates for 2027 President‑Elect. They will appear on the ballot in the fall 2026 national election, along with any petition candidates. Four candidates were announced for Director‑at‑Large (2027–2029): Mick Hurrey, Beth Lorsbach, William Provine, and Carolyn Ribes. Two will be elected this fall.
Committee and governance updates Council approved renaming and updating duties for the Committee on Budget and Finance to the Committee on Fiscal Affairs, reflecting the growing complexity of ACS finances. The committee preference form is open to all members interested in serving on an ACS committee in 2026 through July 6: https://www.acs.org/about/governance/committees/committees/information/preferences.html
Membership and global growth Council approved creation of a new International Chemical Sciences Chapter in Sri Lanka. The 2027 dues and benefits were approved with no changes from 2026.
Financial health ACS reported strong financial performance in 2025, with $50.7 million in net revenue and continued long‑term growth. Over the past 25 years, revenue has more than doubled, with a fourfold increase in unrestricted net assets. ACS receives 58% of revenue from outside of North America and is active 56 different jurisdictions.
Meetings and programs Spring 2026 programming emphasized collaboration, with strong focus areas (more than 300 sessions) in the four community programming tracks of Pharma, Data Science/AI, Sustainability, and Startup. As of March 24, there were 13,521 registrations (12,475 in-person and 1,046 online). The ACS Fall 2026 meeting will be held in Chicago, IL, from August 23-27, 2026.
Actions of the Board of Directors Meeting Board highlights The ACS Board approved a new Advocacy Strategy to support science and scientists in a non‑partisan way. Key areas of focus for 2026 are available at https://www.acs.org/policy/memberadvocacy/issues.html. Student and trainee support This spring, ACS launched Catalyst Scholarships, that will provide $10,000 per year to 200 undergraduates. A $1.4M graduate student success grant supported 74 graduate students who lost funding near degree completion last year.
Your Orlando Section Councilors are here to support ACS members across our seven‑county region. Please feel free to contact us anytime with questions, concerns, or ideas – we’d love to hear from you. With kind regards, Laura and Nicole
Chemists Celebrate Earth Week 2026
Stop by to visit Orlando Section members at the 21st annual Central Florida Earth Day event at Lake Eola Park (east side), 512 E. Washington Street Orlando, FL on Saturday April 25th, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. If you are interested in volunteering, remember that you must register and complete a background check. Please contact the CCEW event coordinator with any questions (stephensmith@fit.edu).
Orlando Section students traveled to the Spring Meeting in Orlando
The Orlando Section of the ACS sponsored four students with Student Travel Awards, thanks in part to a generous donation from Dr. Darlene Slattery, retired long‑time Orlando Section Councilor and the 2025 Gordon L. Nelson Award recipient.
Moses Mayonu (pictured right), PhD Candidate in Chemistry at the Florida Institute of Technology, stated that, ‘This experience provided me with extensive networking opportunities with researchers across the United States and the broader international scientific community. Engaging with distinguished professors offered valuable academic perspectives, while connections with students from both academic and industrial backgrounds have since contributed meaningfully to my ongoing research. A key highlight was the metabolomics data analysis bootcamp on March 25, 2026, which equipped me with critical analytical skills that will enhance my research approach and support my career development.’
Macayla Marr Barnett, undergraduate researcher at UCF (pictured left with advisor Dr. Nicole Lapeyrouse), shared that ‘the award allowed me to present at the 2026 Spring ACS Conference and share me and my research team’s most recent updates on STEM Identity. I love sharing and learning more about chemistry research and am so privileged to be able to connect with others in the community.’
Allison Lloyd (pictured right), PhD candidate at UCF shared that, ‘This year was the 150th anniversary of the conference, which resulted in keynote speakers I’d never thought I’d get the opportunity to hear from. I attended the keynote given by Dr. Jennifer Doudna, Nobel Prize-winner and co-inventor of CRISPR technology, which was the kickoff keynote for the conference. From that point forward, I presented a poster during the evening general poster session and the Sci-Mix poster session, in which I was approached by other researchers working on quantum dots. It was great to explain to them my own work on quantum dots, to have my work challenged and questioned by them, and to receive advice regarding experts in the field I could consult to continue with my work. Later in the week, I attended another keynote given by the Nobel Prize winner Dr. Moungi Bawendi for his contributions to quantum dots – the same field I had been presenting research in!’
Preeti Maiti (pictured left), a doctoral student at UCF, shared that, ‘I was selected to present a poster in the Biomaterials and Biointerfaces session under the Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry. Presenting my poster provided an excellent opportunity for scientific exchange, allowing me to engage with researchers and gain valuable new ideas and perspectives.
In addition, I was selected to deliver an oral presentation in the Division of Biochemical Technology under the Product Formulation session. This experience offered significant insights and served as a valuable platform to effectively communicate my research to a broader scientific audience.’
Avogadro Award
In 2001, the Orlando Section established the Avogadro Award to be presented to an outstanding senior project at the State Science and Engineering Fair. Other Sections in Florida were encouraged to support the award and it is presented yearly as a joint effort.
The 2006 award winner is Nicholas R. Stan (pictured right), a student at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. Nicholas’ project was entitled “Enhancing the Oncotoxic Effects of Mitochondrial-targeting D-(KLAKLAK)2 Peptide by Improving Cell Membrane Permeability via Chemical Conjugation with Imidazopyidinium.” The judges in the senior chemistry section unanimously chose this project because of its strong chemistry content and the obvious knowledge of the student.
The Orlando Section extends its gratitude to Darlene Slattery and DK Weerasinghe for judging the fair and awarding the Avogadro Award along with thanks to the Pensacola Section and the South Florida Section of ACS for contributing to the monetary award for the prize.
Abstract
Prior research has indicated that the synthetic peptide D-(KLAKLAK)2 and its analogues (D-KLAKLAK and D-KLAK) exhibit potent cancer toxicity (oncotoxicity) and pro-apoptotic activity when internalized in mammalian cancer cells. The limitations of these peptides as therapeutic agents, however, are cancer specificity and membrane permeability. Research on tumor-homing peptides to attach to these kinds of peptides has had relative success in conferring specificity, but remain inefficient in promoting membrane permeability. Therefore, the only remaining problem is membrane permeability. The study conducted investigates chemical grafting of IP+ (imidazopyridinium) on to D-(KLAKLAK)2 and its analogues, and its effect on cellular permeability. IP+ is a heterocycle designed to facilitate the diffusion of large peptides across the cell membrane, and this study tested if grafting IP+ onto D-(KLAKLAK)2 and its analogues would improve its ability to diffuse across the cell membrane, which could aid in the development of a cancer therapeutic based on this peptide or others. Experimental methods included preparing D-(KLAKLAK)2 and its analogues, and grafting IP+ and a chloroalkane tag onto them. The effects of IP+ grafting were evaluated by running Chloroalkane Penetration Assays (CAQPA) on HEK293 cells in order to assess to what degree the peptides with or without IP+ could access the cytosol of the cells. Results indicated that IP+ significantly enhanced the intracellular localization of D-(KLAKLAK)2 and D-KLAK compared to controls lacking IP+. These results support the hypothesis and suggest that combining D-(KLAKLAK)2, a tumor-targeting peptide, and IP+ may provide a promising approach for developing broad-spectrum cancer therapeutics in the future.
SERMACS 2025: A Success
The 76th Southeastern and 81st Southwest Joint Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS/SWRM 2025) themed “Chemistry in the Sunshine” was held from October 26-29th, 2025 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, FL. 1710 attendees represented a diverse range of institutions and sectors, including academic institutions, industrial organizations, state/government agencies, undergraduate/graduate students and post-doctoral scholars, as well as high school teachers and students. SERMACS/SWRM 2025 featured 49 distinct technical symposia.
Many thanks to the many, many Orlando Section members who volunteered their time and talents to make the meeting a success!
The Executive Committee would like to extend special gratitude to Chris Chouinard for his dedication in serving as General Chair. Chris is pictured above issuing a welcome to the meeting.
Invite to Attend Executive Committee Meetings
All members are welcome to attend the Orlando Section Executive Committee Meetings that take place on the third Saturday of each month on Zoom. Please contact the Chair (Toufiq Reza) to obtain access to the meeting.
April Event:Central Florida Earth Day at Lake Eola Park, Orlando, FL
The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) will be participating in the 21st annual Central Florida Earth Day event at Lake Eola Park (east side), 512 E. Washington Street Orlando, FL on Saturday April 25th, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. All members and affiliates are welcome to stop by and say hello to our wonderful volunteers and meet some local section members. The vendor location for the ACS-Orlando booth will be communicated by event organizers on April 22nd. A subsequent announcement will be made once this information is available. A general map is provided below for now as a reference.
ACS-Orlando is excited to announce that volunteer registration for the 2026 Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW) initiative is now live! The local section will be participating in the 21st annual Central Florida Earth Day event at Lake Eola Park (east side), 512 E. Washington Street Orlando, FL on Saturday April 25th, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. All members and affiliates are welcome to volunteer and there is no requirement to serve the entire duration of the event, any time contribution will be valuable. Please note that all volunteers must consent to a background check per the ACS Volunteer & Participant Code of Conduct Policy.
The ACS Orlando Section is partially sponsoring the 2025-2026 A.H. Blatt Distinguished Lecture by Professor John L. Wood, Robert A. Welch Distinguished Professor and Department Chair, Baylor University. The title of this lecture is “Recent Efforts in the Synthesis of Complex Natural Products”. This hybrid event is scheduled for March 12, 2026, from 5 p.m. in Bioengineering and Sciences Building (BES), Room 141 at Florida Institute of Technology. Please follow the link below to attend the lecture on zoom: https://fit.zoom.us/j/91608351838. The members of ACS Orlando Section are cordially invited to attend the lecture. A reception to follow in the lobby of BES immediately after lecture.
To encourage student participation in local, regional, and national conferences organized by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and its affiliates – and to expand opportunities for students to deepen their scientific engagement and professional networks – the Orlando Section of the ACS offers Student Travel Awards.
Victor Johnson, a graduate student at Florida Institute of Technology, presented his research on Phytochemical profiling and antioxidant activity of Acalypha wilkesiana at the Fall 2025 ACS Meeting in Washington, DC.Victor Johnson, a graduate student at Florida Institute of Technology, presented his research on Phytochemical profiling and antioxidant activity of Acalypha wilkesiana at the Fall 2025 ACS Meeting in Washington, DC.
Students who have an accepted abstract to present at the ACS Spring 2026 National Meeting and Expo in Atlanta, GA, are invited to apply for travel support. The meeting will take place in March 2026 and provides an invaluable platform for students to share their research, attend technical sessions, and connect with chemists from across the nation.
Thanks to a generous donation from Dr. Darlene Slattery, retired long‑time Orlando Section Councilor and the 2025 Gordon L. Nelson Award recipient, the Section will offer five travel awards of $500 each. These awards are designated as follows:
Two awards for graduate students
Two awards for undergraduate students
One award for a student attending a non‑research college or university
This initiative helps reduce financial barriers to conference participation and supports the development of future scientists in our region.
Application Instructions: To apply, students must submit an application package as a single PDF file that includes the following components:
A brief introduction of the applicant (e.g., academic status, institution, research area)
Proof of acceptance of the abstract (such as the official ACS acceptance email or screenshot)
A copy of the presentation abstract
A brief explanation of financial need, describing why support from the Orlando Section of the ACS is necessary. This is especially important for applicants whose research groups receive federal, industrial, or private funding.
Advisor contact information, including email and phone number (The Awards Committee will directly request a brief statement from the advisor confirming the student’s financial need for registration, lodging, and/or travel assistance.)
The completed application package should be emailed to the Awards Committee: Dr. Laura Sessions (lsessions@valenciacollege.edu) February 6, 2026, at 11:59 PM (EST)
Selection Criteria The Awards Committee will select recipients primarily on the basis of financial need, with additional preference given to applicants who: possess an active ACS student membership, have not previously received a travel award from the Orlando Section, and contribute to broad representation across the colleges and universities within the Section. Bonus consideration will be given for the novelty and impact of the research project. To be eligible, students must be enrolled at institutions within the geographic boundaries of the Orlando Section.
The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society held it’s annual awards banquet on Saturday, December 6th, 2025 at the At Helena Modern Riviera (ICON Park).
The 2025 winners are:
Award
Recipient
Organization
The Eileen Tulley Award for Outstanding High School Student
SAlejandra Jaramillo Marin
Tohopekaliga High School
Outstanding Student at a primarily teaching institution
LeeAnn Andrews
Keiser University
Outstanding Student at a primarily research institution
Elisa Guerrero Supriya Bera
University of Central Florida Florida Institute of Technology
Outstanding Graduate Student
Pritha Sarkar
University of Central Florida
Outstanding High School Teacher
Kennan Wasinger
Lake Brantley High School
Outstanding Educator at a Primarily Research Institution
Alan B. Brown
Florida Institute of Technology
Outstanding Chemist
Rudolf J. Wehmschulte
Florida Institute of Technology
Outstanding Entrepreneur/Employer
University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program (Rafael Caamano)
For the 2025 National Chemistry Week (NCW), the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) organized an Illustrated Poem Contest for K-12 students in Central Florida, centered on the theme “The Hidden Life of Spices” Among the many NCW activities, this contest encouraged young minds to explore chemistry creatively.
Thanks to the support of county school board members and dedicated teachers who promoted the event, numerous students from across Central Florida participated, submitting a wide array of entries for all categories, 3-5 and 9-12.
The results of the local contest 3-5 Category: Winner: Maria S. (Citrus Elementary School) Runner-Up: Brian J. (Bay Meadows Elementary School) 9-12 Category: Winner: Elena J. T. (East River High School) Runner-Up: Tanvi T. (Windermere High School)
Runner-up of Grade 3-5 Category (By Brian J., Bay Meadows Elementary School))
Winner of Grade 3-5 Category (by Maria S., Citrus Elementary School)
Winner of Grade 9-12 Category (by Elena J. T., East River High School)
Runner-up of Grade 9-12 Category (By Tanvi T., Windermere High School)
The winner and runner-up of each category will receive a certificate and a monetary award of $50 and $25, respectively. The winner of each category also advances to the national 2025 NCW Illustrated Poem Contest. The results of the national contest will be published on ACS website soon.
If you have any comments or questions regarding the local contest, please contact the local section’s coordinator of the contest (Dr. Duy Le, submission@orlandoacs.org).
The Orlando Local Section of the American Chemical Society is excited to announce the results from our 2026 Executive Committee election. The voting opened on November 8, 2025, and closed on November 15, 2025.
Congratulations to our 2026 officers:
Chair-Elect: Dr. Pavithra Pathirathna Secretary: Dr. Meghan McGreal Treasurer: Dr. Van Quach Councilor: Dr. Nicole Lapeyrouse
Electronic record of the results can be found here.
We would also like to thank the 2025 executive committee for their service and support of the local section. We hope to see you all at our annual awards banquet next month on December 6th.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to our LinkedIn, follow our Facebook page, and check out our website for updated news, and activities of our local section
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