January 2026 Sutton Family Research Impact Award Winner, Assistant Professor Meredith Hartley
The Department of Chemistry congratulates Assistant Professor Meredith Hartley on receiving the January 2026 Sutton Family Research Impact Award!
The Sutton Award is a monthly competition among chemistry faculty. Every month, the Chemistry Department Chair and Associate Chairs review the peer-reviewed papers published by chemistry faculty from the three previous months to select a winner. The recipient receives a $500 cash prize and is featured on the departmental website.
For a full list of winners, visit our Sutton Family Research Impact Award webpage.
Temporal Dynamics of CNS Cholesterol Esters Correlate with Demyelination and Remyelination
By Nishama De Silva Mohotti, Jenna M. Williams, Rashmi Binjawadagi, Hiroko Kobayashi, Disni Dedunupitiya, Jack M. Petersen, Alana Garcia, and Meredith D. Hartley
ACS Chem. Neurosci. 2026, 17, 1, 160–172. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.5c00703
Myelin membranes wrap neuronal axons to facilitate efficient signal transduction. Damage to myelin occurs in neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease resulting in the release of cholesterol-rich myelin debris that must be metabolized before myelin repair can occur. In this study, we used a mouse model of myelin damage to demonstrate that cholesterol esters in the central nervous system (CNS) accumulate during myelin damage and that there may be more than one biochemical pathway responsible for generating cholesterol esters. We also demonstrate that successful myelin repair is associated with decreased cholesterol esters and that enhancing myelin repair with a small molecule drug further reduces the accumulation of cholesterol esters underscoring the link between the cholesterol ester metabolism and successful remyelination. Our results suggest that cholesterol esterification is an active, cell-specific biochemical process that occurs in response to myelin damage and may be critical for eventual myelin repair.
