Daniel Groves

Dan is a fifth year biochemistry undergraduate at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia. He is working in theoretical and computational biophysical chemistry with the Dima group under Dr. Mangesh Damre and Amanda Macke studying the proposed mechanism of microtubule-severing enzymes.

Dan wrote the following on his research:

My research this summer is centered on a protein called katanin. Katanin is in the group of proteins called microtubule-severing enzymes which play important roles in cell division, motility, and structure/support. In the presence of ATP these enzymes sever, or break apart, microtubules that make up various components of the cell, including spindle fibers, cilia/flagella, and the cytoskeleton. Katanin is of particular importance because it degrades the spindle fibers during mitosis and meiosis, pulling the cell's chromosomes apart into each daughter cell. To investigate katanin's proposed catalytic mechanism I am performing molecular dynamics simulations with the GROMACS software package which fundamentally utilize Classic Newtonian Mechanics to calculate the motions and subsequent positions of every atom throughout the length of the simulation. Afterward, I am performing normal mode analysis on the protein to determine how specific regions of the protein move with respect to one another in an attempt to map the allosteric network of the system. Using molecular dynamics and normal mode analysis, I am figuring out an enzyme mechanism that nobody knows.

Hear about why Dan went into chemistry in this video above.

Alexandria Garza

Alex is a senior chemistry student - graduating in December - at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. This summer she is working with Sheeniza Shah in the Mack Lab studying the use of mechanic energy in organic synthetic reactions as a method of reducing waste and toxic byproducts in the Green movement.

Alex explains her researc as follows:

The Mack lab focuses on an environmentally conscious approach to chemical synthesis, green chemistry. This aspect of chemistry has a multitude of guiding principles, arguably one of the highest prioritized being the prevention of waste. Solvent waste makes up nearly 60% of chemical waste generated annually; much of this solvent is toxic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic and in many ways, costly to dispose of. High-speed ball milling (HSBM) is a solution to significantly reduce production-related waste, as it doesn’t require the energy of solvent but instead uses mechanical energy to convert reactants into products. My project focuses on optimization of a solvent-free synthesis using HSBM, specifically Sonogashira coupling. A typical Sonogashira reaction involves the coupling between a terminal alkyne and (in my case) an aryl halide through the use of palladium catalyst. It’s important to make this reaction more environmentally benign because it plays a critical role in the development of natural products, pharmaceuticals, as well as organic materials. The objectives of this research are to obtain high yields of product and to increase the sustainability not only by reducing solvent but also implementing material that may be recovered after the reaction has taken place. A thorough investigation involving alteration of palladium source, temperature, reaction time, etc. will hopefully lead to the accomplishment of these goals as well as provide a better understanding to the mechanistic properties of HSBM in itself.

Listen to Alex talking about her how she became a chemist.

Robert Dick

Robbie is a senior Chemistry student at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. This summer he is in the Sun Lab working with Brett Mason and Xuan Liu learning about medicinal synthesis.

Robbie describes his research as follows:

I am working in Dr. Yujie Sun's lab synthesizing photoactive ruthenium complexes with oxygen independent activity for use as chemotherapy agents. By using ruthenium complexes, instead of more commonly used platinum complexes, the compound can preferentially target the cancer tumor, reducing side effects. Targeting is done by the complex's structure in addition to requiring complexes be activated with light before they have anticancer activity. By also being oxygen independent these complexes can function even in the low oxygen environment of cancer tumors. The product of this research could allow for safer and more effective chemotherapy treatment in the future.

Here is a video of Robbie explaining how he got into chemistry