July 18, 1996-Vol27n31

Bardos is honored at Symposium

THOMAS J. BARDOS, internationally known researcher and professor emeritus at UB, was honored at the 37th annual Buffalo Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, held May 20-22 at the university. Nearly 200 scientists attended the event, sponsored by the Department of Medicinal Chemistry in the UB School of Pharmacy and co-sponsored by the WNY section of the American Chemical Society.
The 80-year-old Bardos was honored at a banquet May 21 in the Buffalo Marriott.
Bardos' work has led to the development of the field of nucleic acid therapeutics, which has implications for anti-cancer, anti-viral and other agents against several types of diseases.
His research involved molecular design, chemical synthesis and biochemical studies of drugs that inhibit the biosynthesis and function of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), thereby preventing reproduction of cancer cells.
For many years his work was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society.
Bardos joined UB in 1960, one of the first faculty members in the new medicinal chemistry department, described as "the first of its type in an American university."
He has received the Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal from the Western New York section of the American Chemical Society and the Ebert Prize from the American Pharmaceutical Association.
He was elected a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Chemical Society in London and the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
A native of Hungary, Bardos holds a diploma in chemical engineering from the Technical University in Budapest and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Notre Dame.