• I'm a native Texan, and as a college student at UT Austin I found my passions for chemistry, teaching, and service, and I met my future wife. I trained in the research areas of supramolecular chemistry, physical-organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, biophysics, and nanotechnology before starting at Trinity in 2004. My research group focuses primarily on biomolecular recognition – how to interact predictively with biological molecules. We have developed methods for interacting with peptides and proteins on the basis of the amino acid sequence, and we are interested in applications involving drug formulation, diagnostics, biosensors, and biomaterials. The science is interesting and fun, but my real passion is teaching organic chemistry and mentoring research students. I am also heavily invested in service to the university and to the science community, and I am devoted to my family.

    • NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University
    • Ph D. in Organic Chemistry, California Institute of Technology
    • B.S. in Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin

    *indicates Trinity student or alumni co-author

    Paolo Suating, Marc B. Ewe,* Lauren B. Kimberly,* Hadi D. Arman, Daniel J. Wherritt, and Adam R. Urbach, “Peptide Recognition by a Synthetic Receptor at Subnanomolar Concentrations” (article) Chemical Science, 2024, v. 15, 5133-5142. DOI: 10.1039/D4SC01122H. Featured as the outer back cover.

    Paolo Suating, Lauren B. Kimberly,* Marc B. Ewe,* Sarah L. Chang,* John M. Fontenot,* Prakash R. Sultane, Christopher W. Bielawski, Daniel Decato, Orion Berryman, Alexander B. Taylor, and Adam R. Urbach, “Cucurbit[8]uril Binds Non-Terminal Dipeptide Sites with High Affinity and Induces a Type II b-Turn” (article) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2024, v. 146, 7649-7657. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c14045. Featured as a supplementary cover.

    ACS Symposium Series 1470: Professional Mentoring Programs for Science Students; Penny J. Beuning, Adam R. Urbach, Eds.; American Chemical Society, 2024. DOI: 10.1021/bk-2024-1470.

    • Aqueous supramolecular chemistry
    • Biomolecular recognition
    • Drug formulation
    • Diagnostics and Biosensors
    • Protein engineering
    • Biomaterials
    Research Support

    Urbach's research has been supported by $4.4M in grants from federal agencies and private foundations including the Welch Foundation, the National Science Foundation (CAREER, RUI, and MRI programs), the National Institutes of Health (R15 program), Research Corporation for Science Advancement (Cottrell Scholar, LEAD, and Cottrell Scholar Collaborative programs), the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, and the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund.

    • Organic Chemistry
    • Chemical Synthesis
    • Medicinal Chemistry
    • Supramolecular Chemistry

    • 2023 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
    • 2019 Trinity University Faculty Award for Distinguished Research
    • 2016 LEAD Award, Research Corporation for Science Advancement
    • 2009 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
    • 2008 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
    • 2007 Trinity University Distinguished Junior Faculty Award
    • 2005 Cottrell Scholar, Research Corporation for Science Advancement
    • 2003 National Institutes of Health NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard
    • 1996 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, Caltech
    • 1996 Dean’s Honored Graduate, UT Austin College of Natural Science
    • 1996 Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of Texas, UT Austin
    • 1995 Pfizer Undergraduate Fellow in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, UT Austin

    • Cottrell Scholar Selection Committee, 2019-present
    • Advisory Board, International Conference on Cucurbiturils, 2019-present
    • Editorial Board, Frontiers in Chemistry, 2019-present
    • Editorial Board, Supramolecular Chemistry, 2011-present
    • Admissions, Scholarships & Financial Aid Committee, 2023-present
    • Advisory Board, Strategic Communications & Marketing publications, 2023-present
    • Health Professions Advisory Committee, 2005-present
    • Principal, COMPASS Program on Student Career Mentoring, 2017-2024
    • Guest Editor, Chemical Communications, 2019
    • Guest Editor, Israel Journal of Chemistry, 2017
    • Postdoc to PUI Professor Workshop, 2016-2018
    • Manuscript Referee, 42 different journals
    • Grant Reviewer, NSF, RCSA, ACS, AAAS, Murdoch Trust
    • Advisory Board for Impact Magazine, 2015-2024
    • Advisory Board of IMPACT Magazine, 2015-2023
    • Acting Department Chair, Fall 2023
    • Trinity Tower Scholars Day, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
    • Director, Semmes Distinguished Scholars Program, 2020-2022
    • DeCoursey Lecture Committee, 2016-2020
    • Presidential Workload Task Force, 2015-2020
    • University Curriculum Council, 2017
    • Presidential Search Committee, 2014
    • Chair of the Faculty Senate, 2014-2016
    • Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate, 2012-2014
    • Faculty Senator, 2006-2008
    • Faculty Adviser to the Honor Council, 2010-2011
    • Faculty Development Committee, 2009-10
    • University Conduct Board, Fall 2009-10
    • Faculty Search Committees, almost every year since 2004, chaired two searches
    • Faculty Marshall at Commencement, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015
    • Trinity Tower Scholars Day, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
    • Secretary, Phi Beta Kappa, 2016
    • Faculty Adviser to the Chemistry Club, 2004-2010, 2014-2016, 2019, National awards in all years