Capt. William Howlett IV Receives US Army Achievement Medal

The Medicinal Chemistry Department is incredibly proud of PhD Student and US Army National Guard Captain William Howlett IV for receiving the US Army Achievement Medal for outstanding performance in the US Army Chemical Corps Captain's Career Course!

Bill, as he is known in the department, is an advisee of Dr. Elizabeth Ambrose.

The Army National Guard had this to say about his achievement:

“Captain Howlett distinguished himself by contributing extraordinarily well to the class and displayed outstanding leadership, written and oral communication, and research abilities. Captain Howlett possessed outstanding critical judgement and an ethical mindset necessary to operate in today's complex environment. Captain Howlett has demonstrated his value to the Army as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear staff officer through his competency to critically develop logical solutions to a complex problem. The accomplishments of Captain Howlett reflect great credit upon himself, the 141 Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, and the United States Army.”

In the lab, Bill conducts chemical and biological defense research, specifically on medical and decontamination countermeasures for the Ricin Toxin and organophosphate nerve agents, respectively. The Ricin toxin is a common bioterrorism agent that has no oral drug available to counteract its toxicity, thus Bill is utilizing biophysical techniques in a high throughput screen of small-molecules as potential inhibitors towards the development of a novel small-molecule oral therapeutic for Ricin-induced toxicity.

Conversely, organophosphate nerve agents are the most toxic chemical substances known and are common terrorism and chemical warfare agents. Captain Howlett is currently developing a novel decontamination countermeasure for organophosphate nerve agents by encapsulating phosphotriesterase, an extremely efficient and powerful enzyme capable of degrading organophosphates including nerve agents, in a siloxane-based hybrid material matrix formulated as a coating on nylon-cotton textiles, providing a preemptive decontamination countermeasure in the form of new personal protective equipment for warfighters and first responders.

Here's what Bill had to say upon reflecting on this accomplishment:

“I'd like to thank my advisor Dr. Elizabeth Ambrose for her amazing support for veterans and service members. She has been extremely supportive of my military career, enabling me to balance my military duties and research within the laboratory and PhD program in medicinal chemistry.”

And what a balance it is! Captain Howlett frequently travels to Fargo, ND from the Twin Cities Metro Area to complete his duties as an Army National Guard Captain.

Congratulations, Bill! This is a well-deserved award for a smart, hard-working, and driven individual who has dutifully served our country in addition to completing intensive academic research and study.