News & Events
EPR Research Receives $1.45M in Funding
Professors Tatyana Smirnova and Alex Smirnov have been awarded a combined $1.45M for EPR equipment and experiments. Alex Smirnov's NIH proposal for shared instrumentation has been funded at $500K. In parallel, his proposal to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center will be funded at $250K that will serve as the matching funds for the NIH grant – a total of $750K toward the purchase of a time domain ELDOR EPR. Tatyana Smirnova's ca. $700K NSF proposal has been funded with a start date of April 1, 2009. Posted March 26, 2009 Return
10th Annual Poster Session
The 10th Annual Chemistry Poster Session was held on Saturday, March 14th. Poster Session Awards went to: James Roberts, Molly C. Brannock, Yan Zou, and Eric D. Dill. The BASF-Innovative Graduate Research Award was presented to Timothy Shawn Collier and the Caitlin J. Muddiman Award for Demonstrating Creativity and Excellence in Research was presented to Wesleigh Edwards. In the area of teaching—
- Bereman Family Award – Kelly Ann Gauger
- Robert Osteryoung Award – Jennifer D'Antonio
- Dennis Wertz Awards – Colleen Marie Connelly & Robert Wade Knox
- Percy Lavon Julian Award – Sergey Vladimirovich Tsukanov
- Miles Anderson Award – Samuel I. Jenkins
- Sara and Chloe Novak Award – Brandon Michael Cash
Gavin Williams to Join the Department
Dr. Gavin Williams will join the department this fall as a new faculty member in the area of bio-organic chemistry. Dr. Williams received his BS in biochemistry in 1998 from University of Wales in Aberystwyth, U.K. He received his Ph.D. in 2002 from University of Leeds, U.K. He is currently a post doctoral researcher with Professor Jon Thorson at University of Wisconsin in Madison. Posted February 5, 2009 Return
Genna Andrews wins MBTP Traineeship
Genna Andrews, graduate student working under Professor David Muddiman, has been awarded an NIH/NCSU Molecular Biotechnology Training Program (MBTP) Traineeship. This traineeship affords up to two full years of support during which Ms. Andrews will complete the requirements to acquire a graduate minor in biotechnology. During this time, her research will focus on developing nanoLC-MS methods in an effort to characterize small unknown reading frames in the secretome of individual hyperthermophilic microorganisms, as well as co-culture microbial communities and those growing under various environmental stimuli. These small proteins have great potential in providing an advantageous strategy for biomass conversion as well as other vital applications requiring biocatalysts. Posted February 5, 2009 Return
Deiters Paper Highlighted in Nature
A recent Journal of the American Chemical Society paper by Alex Deiters and his group has been featured in the July 17,2008 issue of Nature. The group discovered that hyperthermophilic enzymes work better when microwaved than when not microwaved even though the temperature is not at the enzymes normal working temperature. Posted August 4, 2008 Return
Student Wins MBTP Traineeship
Graduate Student Chris Shuford, working under the auspices of Professor David Muddiman has been awarded an NIH/NCSU Molecular Biotechnology Training Program (MBTP) Traineeship. The traineeships provide two full years of support, during which Mr. Shuford will complete the requirements for obtaining a graduate minor in biotechnology. Concurrently, Mr. Shuford's research will focus on developing targeted and hypothesis-driven MS-based proteomics strategies towards comprehensively characterizing a low abundant cardiac biomarker for congestive heart failure, brain (B-type) natriuretic peptide. Posted July 8, 2008 Return
Grad Student Wins IPMA Award
Nick Foley in the
Brent Gunnoe Research Group has received the International Precious Metals Institute
(IPMI) Student Award. This award comes with a cash prize (for Nick) and support to
travel to the annual IPMI meeting. This is a very competitive award, and Nick was
one of five recipients
this year. Posted May 27, 2008 Return
Gold Nanoparticles Resurrect Failed HIV Drug
In a recent Communication published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a multi-disciplinary team led by Christian Melander, Daniel Feldheim (former NCSU professor, currently at the University of Colorado), and David Margolis (UNC School of Medicine) reported that multivalent gold nanoparticles efficiently inhibited HIV fusion into peripheral blood mononuclear cells. SDC-1721, a fragment of the potent HIV inhibitor TAK-779, was synthesized by Eric Ballard (Melander Lab) and conjugated to 2.0 nm diameter gold nanoparticles. Free SDC-1721 had no inhibitory effect on HIV infection; however, the (SDC-1721)-gold nanoparticle conjugates displayed comparable activity to TAK-779. This result suggests that multivalent presentation of small molecules on gold nanoparticle surfaces can convert inactive drugs into potent therapeutics. This work has been highlighted by C&E News and also by The Discovery Channel. Posted May 23, 2008 Return
Keith Williams Receives American Chemical Society Graduate Student Fellowship
Graduate Student Keith Williams working under the auspices of Professor David Muddiman has received a 2008-2009 graduate student fellowship from the Division of Analytical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. This fellowship is sponsored by Merck and Co., Inc. This fellowship provides 9 months of support for which Mr. Williams will work on the continued development and understanding of hydrophobic tagging of proteins to significantly enhance their detectability using mass spectrometry. Posted May 9, 2008 Return
Melander & Lindsey Receive Funding from V Foundation
North Carolina State University faculty members Christian Melander, Jon Lindsey (both from chemistry), John Cavanagh (biochemistry) and John Horowitz (College of Veterinary Medicine) have received a 4-year grant totaling $1,000,000 from the V Foundation for Cancer Research. This represents the first grant given to NC State from the V Foundation, and will support the training of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in research areas related to cancer. This program is aimed at encouraging students to enter a career in cancer research and thus supply the nation with future generations of cancer researchers. The V Foundation is named in honor of the legendary Jim Valvano, who led the Wolfpack to the 1983 NCAA Basketball Championship. Posted April 25, 2008 Return
Novak Wins Two Teaching Awards
Dr. Bruce Novak has been named an Outstanding Teacher for 2007-2008 at N.C. State University and will become a member of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers. He was also one of four individuals chosen by the Senior Class Board of Trustees to win an Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award. Congratulations to Bruce on these two awards. Posted April 24, 2008 Return
Melander Group Awarded OBC Cover
Eric Ballard and Justin Richards, members of the Melander Group, were recently awarded the cover of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry for their work based on the anti-biofilm properties of reverse amide 2-aminoimidazole oroidin analogues. These compounds potently inhibit and disperse bacterial biofilms, which have far reaching applications from healthcare to industrial settings. The article was also highlighted in the latest issue of the RSC review journal Chemical Biology.Posted April 3, 2008 Return
