FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Dean Donald Bobbitt of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas has appointed Julie Stenken as the inaugural holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Proteomics. Proteomics is the large-scale study of the structure and function of proteins.

In her laboratory, Stenken is currently measuring the proteins and peptides involved in the chemical communication found in mammalian systems. She is studying the proteins that orchestrate immune system responses to foreign implants and the peptides that are involved in drug addiction.

“I have an enormous interest in biological complexity and in understanding some of the intricate roles that chemical communication plays,” Stenken said.

Supporting her ongoing research are two grants totaling more than $1 million from the National Institutes of Health. Stenken has also won more than $350,000 from the National Science Foundation for her research. Stenken’s research in the area of biomaterials biocompatibility was propelled by the receipt of a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation in 2000. 

She is the author or co-author of more than 30 refereed publications in professional journals such as Analytical Chemistry and is currently editing a book for the prestigious Wiley Chemical Analysis series.

“Dr. Stenken has a rigorous program of research in a field important to future advances in fighting major diseases,” said Donald Bobbitt, dean of Fulbright College. “She is highly regarded among her peers and has already proven herself to be an enormous asset to our chemistry and biochemistry department.”

Stenken came to the university from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. She was a J. William Fulbright Fellow at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden before earning her doctoral degree with honors in 1995 from the University of Kansas. She joined the faculty of Rensselaer in 1996, where she developed novel techniques for understanding the processes involved in microdialysis. She also developed unique learning experiences for undergraduate students including the role of analytical chemistry in art conservation.

Stenken’s long-term goal for her tenure at the University of Arkansas is to foster more collaborative efforts between the chemistry department and other departments on the Fayetteville campus as well as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences campus. She believes interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research will attract significant research funding in the future.