Chemistry and Biochemistry News

Join us for the Annual Dell Lecture on Wednesday, April 7 online at https://bluejeans.com/416894321. The featured speaker is Steven M. Falk, PE, Chief Engineer at GE Healthcare. His talk, “Ideate, Innovate, and Iterate, will begin at 5pm, followed by the presentation of the 2021 Dell Scholars. Biochemistry major, Samantha Rea, has been chosen as recipient of the Dell Scholarship. Many congratulations Sam!

Biochemistry major Alexis Manful is working on an independent research project with Dr. Sara Narayan this fall. She is using molecular modeling to investigate the protein-ligand docking of anti-retroviral drug Abacavir. This molecule known by its brand name, Ziagen, is prescribed to prevent HIV/AIDS, as it prevents viral replication. The best part of this type of research is the ability to conduct it anywhere!

Corinna Carter, (Chemistry BS’17/MFS’18) is being featured on our blog as an alum who now teaches at Stevenson, and we are glad she does! Her story: “Since graduating I worked for a clinical toxicology facility that performed LC/MS testing for drug rehabilitation centers. When there I was in charge of accessioning samples, batch preparation, releasing data reports, and chemical inventory (I’m not there anymore). While working full-time at the lab, I started teaching General Chemistry labs as an adjunct and loved every minute! I now teach CHEM 115/116 lecture, lab, and an online Food Chemistry class through SUO. What I like best about teaching at Stevenson is the relationship I’m able to build with my students. It’s absolutely amazing to see how an originally timid freshman class opens up and becomes more confident throughout a semester. Being a stepping-stone in their journey is incredibly rewarding!”

Whether you want to work in person or virtually, research in chemistry hasn’t stopped because of the pandemic. Molecular modeling is a great way to contribute with low risk. Dr. Narayan’s student, Biochem major Trung Nguyen, is working on modeling of anti-HIV drug Nevirapine with the non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase of HIV. This a convenient way to explore drug designs and their affinity to their target binding sites.

5 Questions With…” is a weekly BioBuzz series where authors interview “interesting people in the BioHealth Capital Region. Alumna Destinie Burgan (BS’17 BT with a chemistry minor) was featured as part of the series’ celebration of Women’s History Month. Destinie is the Upstream Supervisor of Manufacturing, at Emergent BioSolutions, and has been employed there since 2018. Click Destinie’s photo for a transcript of the interview with Andy Eckert.