Chem and Biochem at the College of Charleston

Welcome to Sandra Craig, our newest faculty member. She received her BS in Chemistry from East Carolina University and PhD from Georgia State University.

Welcome to Sandra Craig, our newest faculty member. She received her BS in Chemistry from East Carolina University and PhD from Georgia State University.

College of Charleston, Trident Tech to require masks in wake of SC Supreme Court ruling

No one is safe until everyone is safe. Wear your mask!

College of Charleston, Trident Tech to require masks in wake of SC Supreme Court ruling Starting Aug. 18, masks will be required for anyone indoors at Trident Technical College and College of Charleston buildings.

Finding the Perfect Chemistry

Finding the Perfect Chemistry Most people look at an algae-covered pond and see nothing but scum. Oliver Fetzer ’85 sees opportunity. As CEO of Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) in La Jolla, California, Fetzer is leading the charge for a game changer in the energy world, and it all starts with the

Just some of the research going on in our labs this summer!

Jayda Carroll-Deaton (B.S. Biochemistry, 2022) is shown performing a Bradford assay to measure protein concentration. Jayda is studying mitochondrial proteins that help build the electron transport chain.

SC INBRE
Chem and Biochem at the College of Charleston
College of Charleston - Office of Admissions
#cofcssm #IamSCINBRE #undergraduateresearch

[06/15/21]   Job notice: Ingevity, a specialty chemical company here in Charleston, is looking for a BS-level chemist. We have had several students take positions at Ingevity and it's been a great place for them to work. This position would involve working with some instrumentation/equipment. Graduated Chemistry and Biochemistry majors will be considered, as well as chemistry minors. If interested, please email Dr. Cory (at C of C) or send a message here on FB and she'll get back to you with info on how to apply.

Congratulations to our own Dr. Amy Rogers for winning the 2021 C of C Distinguished Teaching Award!

Congratulations to our own Dr. Amy Rogers for winning the 2021 C of C Distinguished Teaching Award!

Analytical chemistry often means fixing things! Here are Tanner Uebersetzig, Dr. Stephanie Boussert, and Heidi Sabatini replacing a leak sensor on an HPLC. Tanner and Heidi are doing research in Dr. Wendy Cory’s lab this summer.

Analytical chemistry often means fixing things! Here are Tanner Uebersetzig, Dr. Stephanie Boussert, and Heidi Sabatini replacing a leak sensor on an HPLC. Tanner and Heidi are doing research in Dr. Wendy Cory’s lab this summer.

Dr. Gerald Gibson Obituary (2021) Post and Courier Charleston

https://obits.postandcourier.com/us/obituaries/charleston/name/gerald-gibson-obituary?n=gerald-gibson&pid=198759333&fhid=8543

Gerald Gibson served as chair of the department from 1968-1982.

Dr. Gerald Gibson Obituary (2021) Post and Courier Charleston View Dr. Gerald Gibson's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

Congratulations to 2021 MUSC PharmD graduates Kristina Tran, Joyce Biaco, and Faith David, all Chem and Biochem Class of 2017 alumni! and not pictured, Carly Sisk! We're so proud of you!

Congratulations to 2021 MUSC PharmD graduates Kristina Tran, Joyce Biaco, and Faith David, all Chem and Biochem Class of 2017 alumni! and not pictured, Carly Sisk! We're so proud of you!

Chem and Biochem at the College of Charleston updated their info in the about section.

Chem and Biochem at the College of Charleston updated their info in the about section.

CofCSSM on Twitter

Over 70% of the Class of 2021 participated in faculty-mentored undergraduate research. This type of experiential learning is a hallmark of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at C of C. Here is Dr. Kate Mullaugh with students Kyle Hollandsworth and Fabio Najjar studying how pollutants adsorb to surfaces of nanoparticles. Congratulations graduates!

CofCSSM on Twitter “Action shot of the day! Kyle & Fabio have been working with a chemical modeling program MINEQL+ to determine the adsorption behavior of inorganic and organic pollutants on surfaces to determine how nanoparticles may be used for water treatment. Advisor: Dr. Mullaugh. @CofCChem”

[05/10/21]   Employment opportunity! Exelon Corporation in Baltimore MD is currently hiring for both radiochemistry lab and analytical lab positions. Katye Beaver, class of 2012, is currently running the radiochemistry lab at their Baltimore location. E-mail Dr. Cory if you're interested and she'll put you in touch.

Congratulations to our Chemistry and Biochemistry graduates! From the left: Skye Jacobson, Abbey Reeves, Mary Britt McDonald, Jonathan Eskew-Martin, Elizabeth Smolenski, Sydney Clark, Taylor Blaker, Heather Paeth, Kaitlyn Price, Harrison Koller, Ryan Harbit, Tim Hunter, Keon Razaeerod, Wyatt Russell, Brandon Williams, Griffin Bast. Graduates not listed: Isabel Wood, Brittany Moore, Mary Johnson, Jeremy Echoles.

Congratulations to our Chemistry and Biochemistry graduates! From the left: Skye Jacobson, Abbey Reeves, Mary Britt McDonald, Jonathan Eskew-Martin, Elizabeth Smolenski, Sydney Clark, Taylor Blaker, Heather Paeth, Kaitlyn Price, Harrison Koller, Ryan Harbit, Tim Hunter, Keon Razaeerod, Wyatt Russell, Brandon Williams, Griffin Bast. Graduates not listed: Isabel Wood, Brittany Moore, Mary Johnson, Jeremy Echoles.

Give to Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry in #CofCDAY! | CofC Day

Support the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry on CofC Day, Thursday January 28.
https://cofcday.cofc.edu/campaigns/department-of-chemistry-biochemistry

Give to Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry in #CofCDAY! | CofC Day I’m ready to support Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry on January 28, 2021 during CofC Day. Learn more about Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Feature: Dr. Candice Ulmer

Hooray for Candace Ulmer ('12)!
https://www.womengineered.org/2020/08/14/feature-dr-candice-ulmer/

womengineered.org Dr. Candice Umer is a CDC Clinical Chemist and co-founder of the Coalition for Black Mass Spectrometrists. Dr. Candice Ulmer in front of her favorite scientific instrument, a mass spec. Dr. Ulmer i…

George Nelson 1930 - 2020 - Obituary

CofC grad ('51) and chemistry major...
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charleston/obituary.aspx?n=george-humphry-nelson-m-d-ph-d&pid=196480837

legacy.com View George Nelson's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

Sondrica Goines (Class of 2018) was selected as the recipient of the 2020 Winifred Burks-Houck Graduate Leadership Award from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). Sondrica is currently a PhD student at UNC Chapel Hill working in the lab of Jeffery Dick where she investigates new ways to apply electrochemical measurements to cellular biology. CONGRATULATIONS!

[06/30/20]   Congratulations to Thomas M McFadden, Theodore Carrigan-Broda and Dr. Gamil A Guirgis who are co-authors on a paper in the Journal of Molecular Structure entitled Experimental (Raman and IR) and computational (DFT, MP2) studies of conformational diversity of 1-chloromethylo-1-fluorosilacyclohexane

[06/29/20]   Senior Highlight: Chris Bolus

Chris Bolus earned his BA in Chemistry along with certification in Secondary Education. Chris will be teaching high school science and coaching football at Charleston Charter School for Math and Science next year. Congrats Chris!

Senior Highlight: Julianna Ridenhour

Julianna Ridenhour completed the Chemistry BA with certification for secondary education at the K-12 level. She spent her last semester completing her student teaching required for certification. Julianna will be teaching right down the street at Burke High School this fall! Congrats Julianna!

Senior Highlight: Kristen Weeks

Kristen Weeks graduated with her Bachelor's of Science in Biochemistry. Kristen worked in the lab of Dr. Neal Tonks and was the president of the new ACS student affiliate club. She also played rugby for the College. Kristen is headed to Florida State to pursue her PhD in Chemistry. Congrats Kristen!

Proteomic and Metabolomic Characterization of COVID-19 Patient Sera

Proteomics, y’all. (We told you biochemistry was relevant to the practice of medicine.)

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)30627-9

cell.com Proteomic and metabolomic analysis of COVID-19 sera identifies differentially expressed factors that correlate with disease severity and highlights dysregulation of multiple immune and metabolic components in clinically severe patients.

Senior Highlight: Emma Watt

Emma graduated from the Honors College with a Biochemistry major. She worked on a drug development project with Dr. Rich Himes at MUSC with their collaborators Dr. James Chou and Dr. Vitria Adisetyo in Pharmacy and Neurology, respectively. Emma is currently in boot camp for the Army. She will be in the CBRN Division for job training afterwards (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear). She still intends to apply to graduate programs afterwards in the Maryland/DC area. Congrats Emma!

Senior Highlight: Briana Taormina

Briana Taormina is a BS Biochemistry and BA Chemistry major who worked in Dr. Marcello Forconi's lab. She plans to take a gap year and move to Durham, NC to work in the medical field while she applies to medical school. She is a part of Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity and a member of the ACS student affiliate club. Congrats Briana!

Iodinated Polyesters with Enhanced X-ray Contrast Properties for Biomedical Imaging

Congratulations to Dr. Brooke Van Horn on publishing in Scientific Reports her work with Clemson collaborators Dan Whitehead and Frank Alexis. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-57720-5

Lex, T. R., Brummel, B. R., Attia, M. F., Giambalvo, L. N., Lee, K. G., Van Horn, B. A., Whitehead, D. C., Alexis, F., “Iodinated Polyesters with Enhanced X-ray Contrast Properties for Biomedical Imaging,” Scientific Reports, (impact factor in 2018 – 4.0), 2020, 10, 1508.

For those of you counting at home, that is three papers in the past year published by CofC Chem faculty in Nature Group journals.

nature.com Synthetic materials exhibiting contrast imaging properties have become vital to the field of biomedical imaging. However, polymeric biomaterials are lacking imaging contrast properties for deep tissue imaging. This report details the synthesis and characterization of a suite of aryl-iodo monomers, w...

Senior Highlight: Joe Sperko

Joe graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He worked in the lab of Dr. Amy Rogers studying the enzyme NO synthase. Joe will be attending the College of Charleston’s MBA program beginning in the fall of 2020. Congrats Joe!

Senior Focus: Rachel Simoneaux

Rachel graduated with a BS in Biochemistry and will be applying to medical school next year. She worked in Dr. Jay Forsythe's lab and their work describing chemical processes relevant to the origins of life was published in the journal Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres. Congratulations Rachel!

Senior Highlight: Devin Sharp

Devin Sharp completed her BS in chemistry while working as a lab technician at GEL Laboratories here in Charleston. Devin worked with Dr. Dave Boucher and co-authored two papers. Devin was also a founding member and Vice President of the College of Charleston ACS student affiliate. She will be relocating the Seattle Area, where she plans to work in environmental science, travel, and write before applying for graduate programs in analytical chemistry.

Senior Highlight: Tabitha Schirmer

Tabitha earned her BS in Chemistry and quickly landed a position at Symrise at Bushy Park in Goose Creek. Symrise develops fragrance, flavor, natural nutrition and cosmetic ingredients. Congrats Tabitha!

Senior Focus: Abigail Reeves

Abigail is a BS Biochemistry major who is pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Sciences at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida starting Fall 2020. While at the College of Charleston, she performed research with Dr. Forconi and Dr. Fox studying protein biochemistry.

The Conformational Landscape, Internal Rotation, and Structure of 1,3,5-Trisilapentane using Broadband Rotational Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Calculations

Congratulations to Dr. Gamil Guirgis on the publication of his manuscript, "The Conformational Landscape, Internal Rotation, and Structure of 1,3,5-Trisilapentane using Broadband Rotational Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Calculations" in the journal Journal of Physical Chemistry (A). William Tonks is an undergraduate student coauthor who worked in the Guirgis lab as a visiting student from University of Virginia and who got started at CofC as a high school student from Academic Magnet. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpca.0c01100

pubs.acs.org The rotational spectrum of 1,3,5-trisilapentane was observed on a chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave spectrometer and is reported. During assignment, multiple conformations of the molecule were identified in the molecular beam. Prior quantum-chemical calculations performed on the molecule sho...

Senior Highlight: Emily Ramsayer

Emily Ramsayer earned a BS in Biochemistry and was a member of the AED Pre-health Society. She will be attending MUSC this fall to earn her MD. Emily graduated from the Honors College and wrote her Bachelor's Essay on her work with Dr. Kate Mullaugh. Congratulations Emily!

CofC Chemistry and Biochemistry wishes a fond farewell to Professor Richard Himes as he and his wife, Dr. Chrystal Paulos, depart for Emory University to pursue new careers there. Dr. Himes has been with us since 2012, first as an adjunct professor and then as an Instructor. Dr. Himes had a vibrant research collaboration with investigators at MUSC as part of an NIH funded startup company Neuroene. He is also a gifted teacher and educator. Best wishes to Chrystal and Rich at Emory! We will miss you! (Rich is on the right in the picture, next to his collaborators James Chou and Sherine Chan)

Discovery of the First Vitamin K Analogue as a Potential Treatment of Pharmacoresistant Seizures

Congratulations to 2020 graduate Lyndsey Prosser and her mentor, Dr. Richard Himes, on the publication of their work "Discovery of the First Vitamin K Analogue as a Potential Treatment of Pharmacoresistant Seizures" in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. The work was a collaboration with MUSC investigators James Chou and Sherine Chan.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00168

pubs.acs.org Despite the availability of more than 25 antiseizure drugs on the market, approximately 30% of patients with epilepsy still suffer from seizures. Thus, the epilepsy therapy market has a great need for a breakthrough drug that will aid pharmacoresistant patients. In our previous study, we discovered....

Senior Highlight: Lyndsey Prosser

Lyndsey Prosser earned her BS in Biochemistry and also met the requirements for the BA in Chemistry. She participated in the development of an anti-epileptic therapeutic working with Prof. Rich Himes and the MUSC team that comprises Neuroene, an NIH funded startup company. Their work was just published. Lyndsey presented this work at CofC, MUSC, and SERMACS. Lyndsey will be attending Emory University starting in the fall to work towards a PhD in Organic Chemistry. Congrats Lyndsey!