University of Tennessee Researchers in Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science Receive NSF Early Career Awards

Three researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have received National Science Foundation CAREER awards for their work developing molecules that facilitate pharmaceutical drug design and evaluation, designing phishing detectors and developing new materials for quantum technology.

Joseph Clark, Doowon Kim and Joon Sue Lee join the NSF's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program this year. NSF created CAREER to recognize and support early-career faculty who can serve as role models in their institutions while advancing research that benefits their state and the nation.

"We are incredibly proud of this year's recipients," said Deb Crawford, vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development. "Their efforts will lead to groundbreaking discoveries and inspire students at all levels to experience the excitement and fulfillment of scientific exploration. Their work has significant state and national impact."

Advancing knowledge, solving global problems

Clark, an assistant professor of chemistry, will receive $650,000 for his research into the use of tritium, the radioactive isotope of hydrogen, for the selective labeling of small molecules and drug candidates. Selective tritiation of drugs plays a critical role in determining how animals (including humans) metabolize them. Typically scientists incorporate carbon-14 into the molecular structure of new drugs for FDA-mandated metabolic and safety testing; this isotope of carbon allows researchers to track the pathway and the behavior of drug molecules in the body without harming human subjects.

However, the worldwide supply of C-14 is produced primarily at one facility in Russia, and Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine has caused a worldwide shortage. The shortage poses a potential threat to all small-molecule drugs awaiting approval from regulatory authorities in the U.S. and Europe. Clark and his team will research the use of tritium as a mainstream alternative radiolabeling strategy, thereby reducing the reliance on C-14 for most clinical metabolism studies in humans.

"Tritium is more difficult to use because it sits on the periphery of a molecule, which makes it less stable, or more prone to metabolic oxidation," Clark said. "My team will research how to add specific amounts of tritium at sites less prone to oxidation and how to measure the purity and structure of these molecules. The United States produces tritium for research and government use, and there are several international suppliers in North America and Europe; if we can make it the new gold standard for drug tracing, we can solve the C-14 crisis and develop new medications more quickly and less expensively."

Kim, an assistant professor of computer science, will use his $597,000 award to identify fundamental characteristics of phishing websites and develop antiphishing systems to protect against attacks. Phishing—in which cybercriminals fabricate websites to trick users into revealing sensitive information like user names, passwords, or financial data—is not new, but mitigation strategies remain ineffective.

"Phishing has existed for decades, but the researchers trying to stop these attacks often focus their efforts on comparing fake websites with real ones," Kim said. "However, this takes a lot of human effort and time and causes delays between the development of a phishing method and the creation of a defense."

To help solve the problem, Kim and his team will create new methods to detect phishing websites, using JavaScript to identify these sites from their back-end code and using large language models to respond to new attack methods by establishing systems that require less human oversight.

Lee, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy, was awarded $749,000 for his work using phases of elemental tin to study quantum phenomena. Alpha-tin exhibits topological properties while beta-tin is a conventional superconductor, but existing synthesis methods often produce a mixture of the two phases in ways that limit the ability to discover their unique behaviors and quantum applications.

"I propose to grow both forms of tin on the same chip, creating structures with atomically sharp boundaries between the two regions," Lee said. "This is more challenging than the current methods, but creating phase-pure films with well-defined interfaces will allow us to expand our understanding of how topology and superconductivity work together and potentially develop new approaches to quantum technology and quantum computing."

Provided by University of Tennessee at Knoxville