Research Areas

Areas of Advanced Study and Research

Analytical Chemistry

In the analytical chemistry area, the focus is on analytical biotechnology, separation science, mass spectrometry, protemics, bioinorganic spectroscopy, and electroanalytical chemistry. In separation science, capillary electrophoresis, genetic analysis, novel methods of detection in HPLC, separation of chiral solutes, separations of proteins and peptides, and development of biopharmaceutical methodologies are major thrusts. In mass spectroscopy, combined HPLC/MS, CE/MS, and GC-MS technology, MS/MS methodology, and studies of DNA adducts are current emphases.

John Engen
Thomas Gilbert
William Hancock
Barry Karger
Ira Krull
Patricia Mabrouk
Eugene Smotkin
Paul Vouros

Bioanalysis

John Engen
William Hancock
Barry Karger
Ira Krull
Carolyn Lee-Parsons
Paul Vouros
Zhaohui "Sunny" Zhou

Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry

Robert Hanson
Graham Jones
Alexandros Makriyannis
Michael Pollastri
Zhaohui "Sunny" Zhou

Biophysical Chemistry

Penny Beuning
David Budil
Max Diem
Patricia Mabrouk
Mary Jo Ondrechen

Chemical Biology

Chemical Biology focuses on the interface between chemistry and biology. Studies in this discipline involve exploration of DNA repair mechanisms, identification of enzyme active sites and protein information analysis using EPR.

Penny Beuning
Carolyn Lee-Parsons
Ke Zhang
Zhaohui "Sunny" Zhou

Computational Biology

David Budil
Robert Hanson
Srboljub M. Mijailovich
Mary Jo Ondrechen
Philip Warner

Inorganic Chemistry

Geoffrey Davies
Rein Kirss
Willilam Reiff

Nanomaterials

Graham Jones
Patricia Mabrouk
Sanjeev Mukerjee
Eugene Smotkin
Ke Zhang

Organic Chemistry

In organic chemistry, research efforts in synthetic, spectroscopic and theoretical areas are carried out, mostly with a bioorganic or medicinal emphasis. Synthetic efforts are directed toward antitumor, antibiotic, and other therapeutic agents, as well as natural products. New enantioselective chemistries are being developed. Conformations of bioactive molecules are evaluated through nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and computational molecular modeling. Computational chemistry is used to help understand mechanism and structure.

David Forsyth
Robert Hanson
Graham Jones
Philip Le Quesne
Michael Pollastri
Philip Warner
Ke Zhang
Zhaohui "Sunny" Zhou

Physical Chemistry

Experimental efforts in physical chemistry include electron spin-resonance studies of biological macromolecules and the photosynthesis process. Studies of solid-state chemistry, spectroscopy, and electrochemistry are directed towards materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. In the theoretical chemistry area, areas of interest include functional genomics, prediction of protein function, modeling of enzyme-substitute interactions, and rational design of materials. Physical/optical methods for medical diagnosis are being explored.

David Budil
Max Diem
Sanjeev Mukerjee
Mary Jo Ondrechen

Proteomics

William Hancock
Barry Karger
Zhaohui "Sunny" Zhou