Research Opportunities
All undergraduate Chemistry majors are encouraged to work with a faculty mentor on a research project. Typically a Chemistry major will start on a project in their junior year so that they can work on the project for at least two semesters. Many students have begun working on research projects even earlier. Undergraduates can do research for credit through the CHEM 296, 396, and 496 course numbers. All faculty in the department participate in research.
New Graduate students need to select a faculty research mentor before the end of their first semester in the Master's program. Graduate students are encouaged to speak with multiple faculty about how faculty-mentored research can to achieve their educational goals.
Informal Descriptions of Chemistry Faculty Research
Cristina De Meo - Bio-Organic, Sialic Acid Chemistry
Cristina’s research deals with the synthesis of specific types of carbohydrates that occur naturally on the surface of cell membranes and are important in several biological phenomena, including pathogenic binding and oncogenesis. The specific carbohydrate is a sugar derivate called sialic acid. Students in her group learn detailed organic synthesis methods, and methods to characterize the products they make such as NMR, Mass Spectrometry and other spectroscopic techniques.
Robert Dixon - Applied Chemistry and Biochemistry
Bob’s research deals with the 1. Design and synthesis of Novel Mechanism-Based Enzyme Inhibition of medicinally relevant target enzymes. 2. Food and Beverage Chemistry and Biochemistry. 3. Applied Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry and Biochemistry. 4. Applied Biotechnological Instrumentation for interdisciplinary research.
Jie Dong - Biochemistry / Fermentation Chemistry
Jie’s research lies in designing and gene editing certain microorganisms and optimizing microbial fermentation processes for the production of certain chemicals, such as isopentenol (aviation biofuel) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA, biodegradable polymer). Three aspects of his research are: 1) upstream engineering of bacteria (E. coli, Pseudomonas putida, Ralstonia eutropha) to let them produce certain chemicals, which includes redesign of metabolic network, gene editing and enzyme heterologous expression; 2) downstream separation of these chemicals, which is developing novel separation technologies that can be integrated with fermentation process, such as membrane based pervaporation and phase transfer based gas-stripping; 3) The hydrolysis of agriculture residues or biomass to provide low cost feedstock to fermentation process.
Andrés Durantini - Biochemistry
The research conducted in Andrés’s group is multidisciplinary, combining light microscopy, biochemistry, and photochemistry. The main focus is to explore the contribution of different bacterial lifestyles to the resistance of antibiotics and photoactive biocides whose mechanism of action encompasses oxidative damage. They are also interested in the R&D of light-activatable antimicrobial materials to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases in healthcare facilities and common used areas. These studies will contribute to improving antimicrobial treatments and developing the next-generation self-sterilizing photoactive materials.
Debanjana Ghosh - Physical Chemistry
Research in Ghosh lab has a multifaceted approach as they explore the host-guest dynamics in supramolecular assemblies. They investigate the photophysical properties of small organic molecules in organized assemblies (micelles, liposomes, polymers, cyclodextrins) to model drug delivery systems. The group uses steady-state and dynamic fluorescence techniques to understand the interaction of molecules in such microheterogenous environments. Another project in the lab focuses on developing simple strategies for colorimetric/fluorometric sensing of toxic ions with the help of small molecule sensors. Students working in Ghosh Lab will receive training on both qualitative and quantitative research methodology. They will be able to gather literature, explore and cite any previous work; prepare colloidal particles, and learn to encapsulate bioactive organic molecules in such self-organized assemblies. They will be using spectroscopic techniques such as UV-Vis absorption and steady-state fluorescence to analyze their hypothesis. The researchers will also be able to disseminate research output and contribute to the experimental physical chemistry workforce.
Myron Jones - Inorganic Chemistry, Metal Dinitrosyl Species.
Research in the Jones laboratory involves the synthesis and characterization of transition metal complexes containing nitric oxide. Our current focus is on the preparation and characterization of compounds based on the dinitrosyl iron fragment (Fe(NO)2). Dinitrosyl iron compounds (DNICs) are of interest because of their occurrence in biological systems. Among several possible biological functions, it has been suggested that DNICs are involved in NO storage and delivery. They also have potential applications as catalysts and as pharmaceuticals (NO donors). Students in the Jones lab gain experience manipulating moisture and air-sensitive compounds, which might involve the use of an inert atmosphere glove box or other specialized glassware. Students also learn how to characterize products using a variety of techniques including spectroscopy and electrochemistry.
Yun Lu - Mechanistic Organic Chemistry
Yun’s group investigates the mechanism of organic reactions, particularly those related to biological reactions which involve hydrogen atom transfers. Through a combination of synthetic, spectroscopic, kinetic and isotopic substitution studies, his group figures out details of how atoms move during organic chemical transformations. Students in his group learn organic synthesis, build up enzyme model reactions, and learn how physical and isotope-labelling techniques that can be translated into knowledge of what happens in solution and in enzymes on the molecular level. His other research field is computational chemistry. The combination of theory and experiment is quite powerful to examine if mechanistic assumptions about reactions are consistent, and further, provides insight into the detailed organic and enzymatic reaction mechanisms.
Sarah Luesse - Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Sarah’s group aims to develop new organic methods and broaden the synthetic limits of known reactions. The two main ways they approach these goals are by designing new catalysts and modifying known reactions. Specifically, the group focuses on multicomponent coupling reactions, which unite several types of organic molecules at once to produce a specific, complicated final structure that resembles those found in nature. This work is complemented by studies that involve a variety of novel transition metal catalysts. Students in her group learn traditional synthetic organic techniques and characterization methods, as well as modern approaches to combinatorial chemistry and asymmetric catalysis.
Edward Navarre - Analytical Chemistry
Ed’s group investigates new methods of chemical analysis in atomic spectroscopy. The primary goals are to improve the design, quality, and scope of the instruments that are available in the chemist’s toolbox. Atomic emission and absorption are a focus of the research, but many other methods are used to explore how samples transform during analysis. Sample types range from water to blood serum, and paints to high-temperature ceramics. Students in Ed’s group have the chance to learn spectroscopy methods, experimental design, statistics, and sometimes electronics, optics, programming, and fabrication techniques.
Leah O’Brien - Physical Chemistry, Molecular Spectroscopy
Leah’s research area is molecular spectroscopy. She looks at diatomic molecules generated under fairly energetic conditions, such as you might find in combustion. Her molecules of choice are transition-metal species such as ZrF, which are studied by high-resolution spectroscopic techniques under low pressure. Spectral analysis allows for the extraction of fundamental information such as the bond strength, bond length, and other properties of the molecule. As an added bonus, the information can be used by Astrochemists for the identification of the molecules in the interstellar medium. Students in Leah’s group learn advanced spectroscopic techniques, spectral analysis, and get a firm grounding in physical chemistry.
Michael Shaw - Inorganic Chemistry, Organometallic, and Spectroelectrochemistry
Mike’s research group investigates the synthesis and reactions of transition-metal complexes, and especially the consequences of electron-transfer reactions on the compounds of interest. The current focus is on metal porphyrin complexes relevant to bioinorganic systems which transform species with N-O bonds through redox events. Students in Mike’s group learn organic chemistry techniques, how to handle air- and moisture sensitive materials, Physical techniques that help prove that students have made the desired compounds. They also learn how to couple spectroscopic techniques with electron-transfer methods (electrochemistry) so as to unravel the structural consequences of electron transfer reactions.
Mina Sumita - Biochemistry & Biophysics
Our core research interests are the incorporation of natural and unnatural modified nucleotides for biochemical and biophysical studies and the analysis of the structural and functional effects of RNA modifications. We use two systems. One is U5 snRNA from the spliceosome as a model system. The major function of the spliceosome is the formation of mature mRNA by RNA splicing. Disruptions of premature mRNA splicing cause various human diseases including cancer. Therefore, it is important to study the structure and function of the spliceosome to develop a gene therapy strategy. Another system is DNA/RNA aptamer against E. coli. This is a collaborative project with Dr. Kamran Shavezipur at SIUE Mechanical Engineering to develop a biosensor for food safety. The specific goals are 1) understanding structural and functional effects of modified nucleotides on the systems by biophysical studies including surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and NMR spectroscopy, and 2) designing and synthesizing unnatural modified nucleotides to study RNA biochemistry and Biophysics.
Kevin Tucker - Analytical Chemistry
Kevin’s research focuses on the detection of pharmaceutical and personal care products and other contaminants of emerging concern within local and regional waterways and the surrounding soil systems. These compounds include from drugs including antibiotics and endocrine disruptors, soaps, cosmetics and agricultural products. The environmental effects of many of these compounds and the concentrations at which these effects begin to be observed is currently not well known or regulated. Through environmental investigations and laboratory modeling, our research aims (1) to determine the environmental levels of various compounds and the geographical relationship between those levels, (2) to elucidate the critical concentration level at which biological and ecological effects begin to take effect for various compounds, and (3) to understand the biological effect of the compounds on various model organisms using environmental samples and models. Students in my lab will learn a variety of techniques including solid-phase extraction, mass spectrometry, and environmental sampling.
Eric Voss - Inorganic Chemistry, AFM and STM Investigations
Eric’s group has a broad array of interests. Students in his group learn physical methods of characterization that differ somewhat from those used in organic chemistry but are very applicable to the field of materials chemistry. One project under active investigation is collaborative with Dr. Hamad from Physics, and involves the solution preparation of glass materials, which are doped with lanthanide ions toward the goal of developing holographic storage materials. A second project is collaborative with Dr. Wei and involves the characterization of DNA and proteins on surfaces by advanced microscopy techniques.
Chin-Chuan Wei - Biochemistry & Biophysics
The Wei group’s research interests lie in understanding the molecular basis of protein function. Of particular interests are studies of metalloenzymes structure/function, protein electron transfer, and receptor-ligand interactions that are involved in biological signal transduction. Along with molecular biotechnology and recombinant protein expression, this lab uses state of the art bioanalytical and biophysical techniques; including various chromatography techniques, such as HPLC and FPLC; spectroscopic techniques, such as UV-Vis, lifetime/steady-state fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD); and microcalorimetry techniques, such as Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) to evaluate protein systems involved in Ca2+ signaling, programmed cell-death (apoptosis), reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and amyloid fibril formation implicated in numerous forms of cancers and disease development. Understanding the molecular mechanism for such biochemical processes presents new and exciting challenges.
Susan Wiediger - Chemical Education Research
Sue’s research is fundamentally directed at improving how students learn chemistry. Projects which are currently in-progress include studies on how safety is taught and learned in freshman-level laboratory settings; how pre-laboratory instruction can affect student performance in teaching laboratories; Chemical Learning In Progress, which involves investigations of students’ work with complex data sets, with particular focus on periodic trend data; and development of demonstrations and lessons at various levels of P-20 education. Student’s in Sue’s group learn how to properly conduct research with human subjects, work with assessment and statistics, and use a range of laboratory and teaching techniques that depend on the specific project. Many have an interest in education in general and may be on the path to become science educators.
