Marya Lieberman, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been selected to receive the Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest for developing low-cost Paper Analytical Devices (PADs) used to identify substandard medicines.

Similar to an at-home aquarium pH test, the PAD creates a color barcode when in contact with the substance being tested. A cell phone app reads the color barcodes to identify 20 different pharmaceuticals and flag substandard versions of many medicines, all for about $0.50 a test.

Lieberman uses the PAD to study the quality of antibiotics and anticancer drugs, most of which are collected in Africa, she said.

“But because of how complex the global supply chains for pharmaceuticals are, these products can pop up in many different countries,” said Lieberman, who will receive the award from the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in April. For cancer drugs, for instance, the quality is critical for good patient outcomes.

“If a product doesn’t have enough of the anticancer drug, the cancer may survive and spread, but if a product has too much of the anticancer drug, the patient may be harmed by the drug’s side effects,” she said.

Lieberman started her PAD project in 2010. It grew to include hundreds of undergraduates at 28 colleges and universities, who use instruments to analyze samples of antiinfective medicines. The program has resulted in the identification of more than 150 substandard or falsified antibiotics and anticancer drugs.

The Esselen Award honors outstanding scientific achievement in scientific and technical work which contributes to the public well-being. Researchers have also communicated the positive values of the chemical profession. The award is presented annually by the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society and has honored such publicly renowned chemists as F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario J. Molina (for their work on the effect of chlorofluorocarbons on the ozone layer), and Jennifer A. Doudna (who pioneered work in genome editing).

“I am delighted Marya was selected for this highly prestigious award, which exemplifies her deep and sustained commitment to using her research excellence to improve public health and well-being,” said Steve Corcelli, professor and chair in the Department of Chemistry.

The Esselen Award is given to honor the memory of G. J. Esselen, past chair of the Northeastern Section and founder of Esselen Research Corporation.

In recognition of her contributions, Dr. Lieberman will receive the Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest on Thursday, April 10, 2025, in a ceremony at the Harvard University Faculty Club, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her award lecture, “Got Fakes? Paper test cards for detection of falsified medicines" will follow the award presentation.

Originally published by Deanna Csomo Ferrell at science.nd.edu on February 13, 2025.