Pownall Lecture in Chemistry

The Pownall Lecture in Chemistry brings experts to Wilkes to discuss exciting topics in research, chemistry and more!

Leveraging Chemistry to Overcome Biologic Barriers in Neurologic Disease Treatment

This lecture is open to the public, no registration required.

Professor Jessica Larsen began her academic career at the University of Virginia, obtaining her BS in Chemical Engineering in 2012. She obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University where she was able to perform research under Drs. Mark Byrne in Chemical Engineering and Doug Martin in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Her research focuses on polymer-based nanotechnology to enable treatment of neurologic conditions, delivering drugs across the blood-brain and blood-nerve barriers. Professor Larsen leads a research team of 25 students and staff in these endeavors. In her undergraduate mentoring efforts, she has received the Phil and Mary Bradley Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry. She was also selected as the 2021 Outstanding Faculty Woman at Clemson University. She received the NSF CAREER Award in the Spring of 2021, the Governor’s Young Scientist Award for Excellence in Scientific Research in 2022, and has been an invited speaker at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the World Biomaterials Congress.

Most recently she was recognized as a 2025 NIH Director’s New Innovator. Her work has been funded by the NSF, NIH, and multiple disease-specific foundations.

About the Lecture Series

The Pownall Lecture in Chemistry was established thanks to Henry J. and Linda C. Pownall. Henry Pownall, PhD, graduated from Wilkes College in 1967 with a master’s degree in chemistry. He earned his doctorate from Northeastern University in physical chemistry with postdoctoral fellowships in molecular spectroscopy at the University of Houston and biochemistry at Baylor College of Medicine with an emphasis on lipid metabolism.