Jeffrey Agar, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, works in his lab at 140 The Fenway. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

10/06/21 – BOSTON, MA- Northeastern students work with Green City Growers to plant greens such as spinach, arugula and kale in the new community garden boxes behind Snell Library on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

8/30/21- BOSTON, MA- Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Carla Mattos works in Hurtig Hall at Northeastern on Monday, August 30, 2021. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

FILE – In this July 2, 2020 file photo, nurse Nomautanda Siduna, right, talks to a patient who is HIV-positive inside a gazebo used as a mobile clinic in Ngodwana, South Africa. Researchers are stopping a study early after finding that a shot of an experimental medicine every two months worked better than daily Truvada pills to help keep uninfected women from catching HIV from an infected sex partner. The news is a boon for AIDS prevention efforts especially in Africa, where the study took place, and where women have few discreet ways of protecting themselves from infection. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)

07/19/21 – BOSTON, MA. Inhaler stock illustration at Northeastern University on Monday, July 19, 2021. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Morgan Pfaff, who studies biochemistry, conducts biomaterial research for bone graft applications in Egan Research Center. Pfaff recently received an NSF grant. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

04/05/21 – BOSTON, MA: John Engen, distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical biology, poses for a portrait on April 05, 2021. Engen recently received the Excellence in Research and Creativity faculty award. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Heather Clark, a professor in the departments of bioengineering and chemistry, works at the Chemical Imaging of Living Systems Institute in the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex. Clark helped develop a nanosensor that can image communication between the brain and the body. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Students with keynote speaker Dr. Sloan Devlin at the ASBMB Northeast Regional Meeting on NU campus. Photo by Kirsten Fertuck

Amino acids are critical to the structure of proteins, which are often visualized as 3D ribbon structures. Northeastern biochemists are studying the chemistry of amino acids within SARS-CoV-2 to predict the reactions they enable. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University