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World War I is known to some as "the chemists’ war," largely due to the widespread use of chemical weapons in battle. Soldiers were often poisoned by ammonia-based gases — nitrogen mustard being one of the most widely used — that would lead to blistering, itching and a painful, brutal death in the trenches.

While the use of nitrogen mustard has not been seen since the Great War, there is still no widely available antidote to the poisonous gas. In South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University's Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, graduate student Michael Worfa is researching solutions to reduce nitrogen mustard toxicity. 

Under the direction of assistant professor Rachel Willand-Charnley and professor and department head Brian Logue, Worfa's project is looking to develop the first Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy for nitrogen mustard exposure. This work, if successful, would fill a critical gap in chemical warfare countermeasures.

SDSU has a national reputation for leading the discovery of chemical warfare countermeasures. Previously, Willand-Charnley and Logue were the first to reveal an effective approach for treating sulfur mustard poisoning, another chemical warfare agent that has been used in countless wars.

For this work, Worfa was awarded the 2025 John E. Miller Research Scholarship from the SDSU chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Worfa credits his father, a teacher and educational administrator in his home country of Ghana, for sparking his drive to learn. He recalls his father's strict rules on completing his work but also his father's repeated admonition: "You are on this planet for a purpose. Learning will help you find your purpose."

Living by this mantra, Worfa is now motivated by a singular goal: "to make humanity better."

Worfa has been at SDSU since 2021 and has been active in both teaching and research. In 2024, Worfa was awarded the Haskett à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã for Outstanding Teaching as a graduate teaching assistant. He is grateful for his opportunities at SDSU and is specifically appreciative of the mentoring and guidance provided by Willand-Charnley and Logue.

"(Willand-Charnley) is a wonderful advisor," Worfa said. "(Logue) is a great guy. I am very appreciative of their support."

The Miller Scholarship is awarded annually in memory of John E. Miller, a long time Phi Kappa Phi member, who began teaching history at SDSU in 1974.

"He loved research from the very beginning," said Miller's wife Kathy.

While at SDSU, Miller realized there was a lack of documented state history and eventually focused his research efforts on political history and the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. A prolific writer, Miller is credited with many publications and has authored 13 books. The research scholarship was developed in 2020, following Miller's death, to honor his scholarly work and service to SDSU and the state of South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Juniors in the upper 5% and seniors in the upper 10% of their class are invited to membership. Graduate students with a 4.0 GPA are eligible to be initiated. For more information on Phi Kappa Phi or the Miller Scholarship, contact Lonell Moeller at lonell.moeller@sdstate.edu.