Yehia Mechref Named TTU Welch Chair

Dr. Yehia Mechref has been named the Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry at Texas Tech University. This prestigious appointment will provide resources for Mechref to continue to be an innovator in analytical chemistry. 

The Robert A. Welch Distinguished University Chair in Chemistry was established by The Robert A. Welch Foundation in 2012 and is one of the highest honors that can be given to a faculty member. The program is one of the nation's largest private funding sources and provides fundamental support for faculty positions for outstanding, active, research scientists who will advance basic scientific research in chemistry and allied sciences in Texas.

Mechref is also a Paul W. Horn Distinguished Professor, Associate Vice President of Research and Innovation, and Director of the TTU Center for Biotechnology & Genomics. Furthermore, he leads The Mechref Group, which is a group focused on glycomics, glycoproteomics, and proteomics. The group focuses not only on the findings that comes from these methods, but also finding ways to enhance the current capabilities of these research fields. 

Mechref is a nationally and internationally recognized scientific leader in the development of biomolecular mass spectrometry methods that lead to the discovery of roles of proteins, glycoproteins, and glycans in biological systems. He pioneered a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS) system to analyze glycomic samples in conventional proteomic laboratories, eliminating the need for more specialized facilities and making glycomic analysis more accessible to the broader scientific community.

You can read more about Mechref's work, specifically the expansion of his brain cancer research as it pertains to neurodegenerative diseases, by clicking here. 

Mechref's research program has received over $9 million in funding, and he currently has five active National Institutes of Health grants. Additionally, Mechref's research has led to him publishing 29 review articles, 14 book chapters, and 185 peer-reviewed research papers. He has guest-edited seven journal special issues and he is a member of the editorial boards of numerous journals.