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Emma Parmee facts for kids

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Emma Parmee
Emma Parmee portrait Innovation Day 2009.jpg
Emma Parmee, 2009
Nationality British
Other names Emma Rachel Parmee
Alma mater University of Oxford
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Occupation scientist
Employer Merck & Co.
Awards Gordon E. Moore Medal (SCI)

Emma Parmee is a brilliant British scientist. She is a chemist who has helped create many important medicines. She is famous for her work on a drug called sitagliptin. This medicine helps people with Type 2 Diabetes. For her amazing work, she has won several awards.

Emma Parmee's Life and Work

Early Life and Education

Emma Rachel Parmee was born in the United Kingdom. She studied chemistry at the University of Oxford. There, she earned her first degree and then her PhD. She finished her PhD in 1990.

After her studies, she received a special NATO fellowship. This allowed her to move to the United States. She continued her research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, she worked with Professor Saturo Masamune. Her research focused on how to make chemical reactions happen in a specific way. She finished her research at MIT in 1992.

Joining Merck & Co.

In 1992, Emma Parmee joined Merck & Co.. This is a very large company that makes medicines. She started working at their research lab in Rahway, New Jersey.

Discovering New Medicines

Developing Sitagliptin for Diabetes

In 2006, Emma Parmee was a main researcher in a big discovery. Her team found a new medicine called sitagliptin. Merck sells this drug under the name Januvia.

Sitagliptin is used to treat Type 2 Diabetes. People with Type 2 Diabetes have trouble controlling their blood sugar. This new drug helps lower blood sugar. It does this without some of the bad side effects of older medicines.

Awards for Her Work

Emma Parmee's important work on sitagliptin was recognized with several awards. In 2007, she received the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award. This award is given for important inventions. She also won the Prix Galien for Endocrinology that year. In 2009, she received the Gordon E Moore Medal. This medal is given by the Society of Chemical Industry for great contributions to science.

Leadership Roles

In 2010, Emma Parmee moved to another Merck facility. This one is in West Point, Pennsylvania. She became the leader for chemical discovery there. She held this role until 2013. Her team worked on developing a new type of medicine.

Later, she was promoted to a higher position. She became the Associate Vice-President and Head of Exploratory Chemistry. She also helps lead the Early Discovery Council for Merck Research Laboratories. This means she helps decide what new medicines Merck will try to discover.

Emma Parmee has written over forty scientific papers. These papers have been published in important science journals. She has also filed for more than thirty US patents for her inventions.

She lives with her husband, son, and daughter.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Emma Parmee para niños

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