LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

2026 Recipient

Susan M. Lunte, The University of Kansas

Susan Lunte is the Ralph N. Adams Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. She is also the director of the R.N. Adams Institute for Bioanalytical Chemistry and the NIH COBRE Center for Molecular Analysis of Disease Pathways. Both centers focus on the role of analytical chemistry in the understanding of disease and fundamental biological questions, while also providing mentorship to young faculty. Dr. Lunte has been working in the field of electrophoresis since the early 1990s. Her contributions include the development of novel detection methods for both capillary and microchip electrophoresis. Her group developed several novel electrochemical detection methods and configurations compatible with both electrophoresis formats. Her group also developed methods for the on-line coupling of microdialysis sampling to both capillary electrophoresis and microchip electrophoresis. This combination of technologies yields a separation-based sensor that can be used to monitor drug metabolism and neurotransmitters release in near real time in awake freely moving animals. Additionally, her group developed several methods for the determination of peptides using capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection. More recently, the Lunte group has developed electrophoresis- based methods for the detection of oxidative stress markers involved in neurological disease. She has over 175 publications, 22 book chapters, 4 patents and one book on Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications of Capillary Electrophoresis. Over her scientific career, she has given more than 300 invited lectures at institutions and conferences nationwide and internationally. Dr. Lunte has mentored 63 Ph.D. students, including visiting graduate students from academic institutions in Europe and South America. She has also mentored 24 postdocs and over 100 undergraduate students and has hosted 20 visiting faculty scientists in her lab at KU. She is most proud of these alumni who are leaders in their own right in academia, industry and national laboratories. Dr. Lunte also served the analytical community as Chair of the ACS Analytical Chemistry Division and the Editor in Chief of Analytical Methods. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and has served as a member of the SLAS Board of Directors. She has received several awards including the ANACHEM award, ACS-ANL Roland F. Hirsch Distinguished Service Award, ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry, Ralph N. Adams Award in Bioanalytical Chemistry and the Charles N. Reilley Award in Electroanalytical Chemistry. Dr. Lunte is a Fellow of the RSC, AAPS, ACS, AAAS and AIMBE.