Sponsored by X-Chem
The X-Chem Research Excellence Award (formerly the IntelliSyn Pharma Research Excellence Award and the Boehringer Ingelheim Research Excellence Award) is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution to medicinally relevant organic or biophysical chemistry while working in Canada. Eligible candidates must have held their first professional appointment as an independent researcher for twelve years* or less at the time of initial nomination.
View the Terms of Reference and list of Past Winners
The 2025 winner of the X-Chem Research Excellence Award is:
Matthew Macauley, MCIC
University of Alberta
Trained as a biochemist, Dr. Macauley carried out his PhD at Simon Frasier University, using chemical biology to tackle roles for glycosylation. This interest was further developed during his Postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute, where Dr. Macauley developed an expertise in glycoimmunology. In 2017, Dr. Macauley joined in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Alberta. Currently, Dr. Macauley is a tier II Canada Research Chair in Chemical Glycoimmunology and the Raymond U. Lemieux Chair of Carbohydrate Chemistry.
Dr. Macauley’s Lab primarily focuses on the immunomodulatory sialic acid-binding Siglec family of receptors. This includes the development of innovative approaches to probe Siglec-glycan interactions on cells and tissues and utilizing new insights about the biological ligands of Siglecs to test hypotheses about the roles of Siglecs in controlling immune cell function. This interdisciplinary research encompasses numerous fields including: Chemistry, Immunology, and Neuroimmunology.