Jerrica Brown

Jerrica returns to the program for the second time this summer. She is now an upcoming senior at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. This time she is working in the Stan Lab under the guidance of Yashan Fonseka in using computational methods of studying the mystifying process of protein folding.

Here is how Jerrica explains her research:

We are interested in the Halotag (pdbid: 4kaf) due to its simple structure and mechanical weakness and how it interacts with the ClpYΔI hexamer nanomachine

Using a CHARMM package, we study the folding assistance or degradation processes used to check the folding pathways. To probe the unfolding and translocation mechanisms of the substrate using ClpYΔI, we perform Langevin dynamics coupled with targeted molecular dynamics (TMD) using the effective energy function (EEF1) implicit solvation model. EEF1 implicit solvation model uses an atomistic representation for the protein while generally representing solvent as continuous field in a vacuum. Using TMD we can simulate the allosteric motion within ClpYΔI. ClpYΔI undergoes a conformational change from open(pdbid 1do2) to close(pdbid 1do0) while exerting a force on the substrate at the central pore region of ClpYΔI. We have two main interests: in one setup we simulate the invivo arrangement while another mimics the experimental setup of single-molecule experiments. Our current data indicates that the unfolding and translocation of the substrate in restrained and unstrained geometric setups will result in different unfolding mechanisms.

In this video Jerrica explains why she became interested in chemistry.

Andrew Bach

Andrew is a junior Chemistry and Mathematics double major at Alma College in Central Michigan. He is working in the Gudmundsdottir research group with DeAnte’ Judkins on the synthesis and characterization of photodynamic crystals.

Here is how Andrew describes his research this summer:

The Gudmundsdottir research group focuses on photodynamic reactions of azide crystals. Azide crystals release nitrogen gas upon photoradiation. This gas buildup can cause the crystals to jump, bend, or break into pieces. This summer I am working on the photoreaction of a diazidobromojugalone compound, which includes studying the different crystal structures of the compound and their corresponding reactivity as well as identifying the photoproducts and mechanisms of these reactions. This project is important because at its very core, it is a conversion of light into motion and mechanical energy. The applications for this benefit can span from engineering to medical to sustainability.

Listen to why Andrew became interested in chemistry.

Timothy Perry

Tim is an upcoming senior chemistry student at Xavier University of Louisiana

Tim is an upcoming senior pre-med chemistry student at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. He is working with Matthew Medearis and Yasin Pourfarjam in the Kim Research Group studying proteins associated with the DNA repair pathway.

Below is Tim's description on his research this summer.

The goal of my research is to test expression of different ADP-ribosyltransferase proteins in E.coli cells and then purify these proteins using column chromatography. ADP-ribosyltranferase proteins have been found to play a role in innate cell immunity. The impact of my research is that these purified proteins can be used to determine structural mechanisms of ADP-ribosyltransferases of enzymatically binding ADP-ribose to target proteins.

Here is a video where Tim explains how he got interested in chemistry.