As a young ARCS® Atlanta Chapter Scholar at Morehouse College in 1996, Dr. Jason K. Sello found a passion for studying viruses. His interest was piqued when he realized that understanding a virus at the molecular level could lead to insight on how to combat it. Twenty years later, Dr. Sello uses this knowledge as a foundation to tackle global pandemics. Like the jazz musicians he follows in his spare time, he riffs on fundamentals to build solid, synergistic solutions to broad problems in healthcare.

“I have always wanted to make an impact on the world through science,” Sello said. “I look at what challenges are facing the world and think, what can I do to make a difference?” Most recently, his major focus has been tuberculosis, a bacterial disease that he says kills more than 2 million people worldwide every year.

A professor in the Department of Chemistry at Brown University, Dr. Sello’s research concerns new approaches to treating bacterial infections. In a major project in his laboratory, he has worked to develop a new anti-bacterial drug that targets critical enzymes that bacteria use to maintain the proper functions of their proteins. He combines experimental methods from synthetic organic chemistry, molecular microbiology and biochemistry. He has also recently started thinking about new and cross-disciplinary ways to treat malaria, another deadly pandemic.

“Receiving the ARCS Scholar award at Morehouse was a very prestigious honor,” he said. “ARCS has a long-standing belief in the positive impact that science can make for humankind, and helped set me on my exciting pathway of research and discovery.”

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