CHEMISTRY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE C&FS NEWS Volume 2 issue 1
1 Chemistry
and
Forensic
Science
C&FS News
FALL 2015 IN THIS ISSUE: Welcome from Chair
Dr. Hua Zhao Thank you for browsing our 2015 Fall edition of Chemistry and Forensic Science (C&FS) News! This issue highlights our students’ achievements in their summer research internships, conference presentations and recent awards. We also give kudos to our faculty members for receiving grants, conducting research with students, and publishing their research work! Our alumni spotlight features Dr. Shaletha Holmes, who graduated from our  Student Summer Internships page 2 chemistry program in 2011 and just received her Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology and Neuroscience from University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC). There is much more in this newsletter that you will enjoy reading!  Faculty Development page 2  3+2 Forensic Science Program page 2  Student Presentations and Accolades page 3  Faculty‐Student Presentations page 4  Recent Grant Awards page 4  Highlighted Faculty page 5  Alumni Spotlight page 6 and much more… CHEMISTRY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE C&FS NEWS | Issue 1 2
2015 Summer
Internships
LaTanya Downer, Chemistry, NIBIB scholar, at Northeastern University REU Program, “Insight into Proteolytic Digestion”, Mentors: Dr. John Engen and Gregory Pirrone. Maleek Montgomery, Chemistry, NIBIB scholar, at NIH‐NIDDK – National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, “Effect of Disrupting Doublesex Gene Function in the Regulation of Sex‐specific Gene Expression in Drosophila Tissue Culture Cells”, Mentors: Dr. Frian Oliver and Dr. Hangnoh Lee. Christal Driver, Chemistry, RISE scholar, at University of North Dakota 2015 NSF‐REU Program, "Lignin Pretreatment for Improving Microbial Degradation", Mentors: Dr. Yun Ji and Dr. Alena Kubatova. Quanesha Williams, Chemistry, RISE scholar, at Virginia Tech, Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program (MAOP) Summer Research Internship, "In Situ FTIR Spectroscopy for Monitoring Polymerization in Real Time", Mentors: Dr. Timothy E. Long and Allison Pekkanen. Chantrell Frazier, Forensic Science, RISE scholar, at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine 2015 Summer Faculty Professional
Development Dr. Pascal Binda attended the “Collaborative Research for Transformative Scientific Discovery, Innovation, and Transition that is Critical to National Security”, Army Terrence Cumby (Chemistry) and Dr. Kai Shen, at Savannah State University Expression and purification of sigma 1 receptor. Professional
Awards and
Recognition
Tiffany Villanueva, Forensic Science, NIBIB scholar, at Princeton University/Lewis‐Sigler Institute, “Mdr49 Potentiates Hh Signaling in Drosophila Melanogaster”, Mentors: Dr. Girish A. Deshpande and Diane Manry. Dr. Osman was invited with travel award to participate in the Network of Minority Health Research Investigators South Regional Workshop, Nov 15 ‐ 16, 2015, organized by the NIH‐
NIDDK at Tulane University School of Public Health in New Orleans, LA. Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program, "E6‐
Associated Protein and its Transcriptional Co‐activation of Estrogen Receptors", Mentors: Dr. Zafar Nawaz, Jimmy El Hokayem, and Celeste Amadei. Research Laboratory (ARL) Open Campus, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, November 2‐
4, 2015. Dr. Edugie Ekuase attended the Joint Research Initiation Awards (RIA)/Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Proposal Development Workshop sponsored by the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network, Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport Hotel, August 14‐15, 2015. Dr. Kai Shen attended “Igniting the Dream of Medicine High Congratulations Dr. Binda for being the recipient of the 2015 American Chemical Society (ACS) Chemistry Ambassador Award. School and Undergraduate Conference”, Medical College of Georgia/Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA February 28, 2015 3+2 Forensic
Science program
Congratulations to the Forensic Science Coordinator and Professor of Forensic Science, Dr. Karla‐Sue Marriott, for the partnership that has been formed with University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC). The institutions have partnered to offer a 3+2 program in Forensic CHEMISTRY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE C&FS NEWS | Issue 1 3
Genetics. Students in the SSU Forensic Science program now have the opportunity to have dual degrees‐bachelor of science in forensic science from SSU and a master of science in forensic genetics from UNTHSC‐if they so desire. Improving
Graduation
Rates in
Chemistry &
Reducing Cost
Working to improve graduation rates and minimize the cost of student learning, Dr. Cecil L. Jones has secured the University System of Georgia (USG) Textbook Transformation Award. Students who enroll in the Principles of Chemistry I & II courses no longer have to purchase a $271.00 textbook. There has been a recent incline in students attempting to take these courses without purchasing the textbook. This results in low performance which negatively impacts graduation rates and retention. Taking full advantage of the USG Affordable Learning Initiative, Dr. Jones is conducting an investigation to measure the impact of this grant on student performance in these courses.
Student
Presentations
and Accolades
at the 10th
Annual Peach
State LSAMP
Fall Symposium
and Research
in Athens, GA
Chantrell Frazier, with Co‐
authors (Dr. Zafar Nawaz, Jimmy El Hokayem, and Celeste Amadei), 2nd place in “Cellular & Molecular Biology” presenting a poster entitled“E6‐Associated Protein & Its Transcriptional Co‐
Activation of Estrogen Receptors”. Diamond Rogers, 1st place in “Cellular and Molecular Biology” oral presentation category for her talk on “Identification of Trans‐Acting Factor in Mediating Transcriptional Induction through LZA”. Quanesha Williams, and Her Co‐authors (Dr. Timothy E. Long and Allison Pekkanen), 2nd place in “Chemistry” oral presentation session entitled “In Situ FTIR Spectroscopy for Monitoring Polymerization in Real Time”. Christal Driver, Dr. Yun Ji and Dr. Alena Kubatova, “Microbial Degradation of Pretreated Lignin into Renewable Chemicals”. CHEMISTRY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE C&FS NEWS | Issue 1 4
Students Present
at 15th Annual
Biomedical
Research
Conference for
Minority Students
(ABRCMS) in
Seattle, WA
LaTanya Downer, Dr. John Engen, and Gregory Pirrone, “Insight into Proteolytic Digestion” “Tiffany S. Villanueva, Dr. Girish A. Deshpande, and Diane Manry, “Mdr‐49 Potentiates Hh Signaling in Drosophila Melanogaster” Maleek D. Montgomery, Jr., Dr. Brian Oliver, and Dr. Hangnoh Lee, Effect of Disrupting Doublesex Gene Function in the Regulation of Sex‐specific Gene Expression in Drosophila Tissue Culture Cells”. Chantrell Frazier, Dr. Zafar Nawaz, Jimmy El Hokayem, and Celeste Amadei, “E6‐Associated Protein & Its Transcriptional Co‐ Activation of Estrogen Receptors”. FacultyStudent
Presentations
Da'Nay Lacey and Pascal Binda “Aluminum Complexes of Chiral Aminophenolate Ligands: Synthesis Characterization and Reactivity toward Ring Opening Polymerization of ɛ‐
Carprolactone”. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), November 11‐14, 2015, Seattle, WA. Jasmine Phillips and Pascal Binda – “Synthesis of New Lanthanide Catalysts for Polymerization of Naturally Renewable Unsaturated Gamma Lactones into Cross‐
Linkable Biodegradable Polyesters” 10th Annual Peach State LSAMP Fall Annual Biomedical Quanesha Williams and Pascal Binda “Calcium Complexes of Chiral Aminophenolate Ligands: Synthesis Characterization and Reactivity toward Ring Opening Polymerization of ɛ‐
Carprolactone and α‐methylene‐γ butyrolactone”. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), November 11‐14, 2015, Seattle, WA. Recent Grant
Awards
Award Number: W911NF‐15‐1‐
0429) 08/22/2015‐
08/21/2018. “The Role of Metavinculin in Mediating the Response of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells to Extracellular Matrix Stiffness”, Shen, K. (PI) and Marriott, K. (co‐PI), $ 314,972 National Institutes of Health (Award Number: SC2GM112549) 02/01/2015‐
01/31/2018 “Metavinculin Regulation of Cell Cytoskeleton Remodeling in Response to Substrate Stiffness” Shen K. (PI), $ 296,692 Department of Defense (Award Number:W911NF‐15‐1‐
0037) 12/22/2014 ‐ 12/21/2015. “Acquisition of a Raman Microscope for Interdisciplinary Research and Education”, Shen, K. (PI), Hintz, C. (co‐PI), Zhao, H. (co‐ PI), Sivapatham, P. (co‐
PI), and Marriott, K. (co‐PI), $ 331,997 Department of Defense/ARO 08/01/2015‐07/30/2018 “Design and synthesis of new heteroleptic lanthanide complexes as catalysts for ring‐opening polymerization of naturally renewable unsaturated gamma lactones into cross‐linkable biodegradable polyesters” Binda, P. (PI). $326,633 Faculty
Publications
Robert J. Visalli, Hannah Ziobrowski, Kameswara R. Badri, Johnny J. He, Xiugen Zhang, Sri Ranjini Arumugam, and Hua Zhao*, “Ionic Derivatives of Betulinic Acid Exhibit Strong Antiviral Activity against Herpes Simplex Virus Type‐2 (HSV‐2), But Not HIV‐1 Reverse CHEMISTRY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE C&FS NEWS | Issue 1 5
Transcriptase”, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 25(16), 3168–3171 (2015). Hua Zhao* and Gary A. Baker, “Oxidative Desulfurization of Fuels Using Ionic Liquids: A Review”, Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering, 9(3), 262‐279 (2015). Mahasin A.Osman. Regulation of Cytoskeleton Dynamics in Health and Disease: role of molecular switches and rheostats. H. Schatten (Ed), The Cytoskeleton in Health and Disease. Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015 Slavica Tudzarova and Mahasin A. Osman (2015). The double trouble of metabolic diseases: the diabetes–cancer link. Mol. Biol. Cell, 26:18 3129‐3139 Tanos BE, Bay AEP, Salvarezza SB, Vivanco I, Mellinghoff I, Osman, Mahasin A, Sacks DB, and Rodriguez‐Boulan E. (2015). IQGAP1 Controls Tight Junction Formation Through Differential Regulation of Claudin Recruitment. J Cell Sci., 128(5), 853‐862 Ekuase E.J, van 't Erve T.J, Rahaman A., Robertson L.W., Duffel M.W., Luthe G., “Mechanistic insights into the specificity of human cytosolic sulfotransferase 2A1 (hSULT2A1) for hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls through the use of fluoro‐tagged probes.” Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. (2015), 1‐9. Meet Dr.
Mahasin Osman
Dr. Osman has recently joined our department. Dr. Osman earned her Ph.D. from Cornell University in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology. Following postdoctoral training at Cornell she was appointed as a research faculty with an independent laboratory funded by the NIH‐
NCI, and was a Visiting Professor at Weill Cornell Medical School (now Weill Cornell Medicine). She has been an ad‐hoc reviewer for many scientific journals, and a member of grant review panels of several national and international grants agencies. Working through the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) International Affairs Committee and the UNDP she has been training junior faculty and graduate students and developing pertinent courses in cell and cancer cell biology in developing African countries like Ghana, Tanzania, and Sudan, and in Turkey. She has organized several international conferences and workshops focusing on technology transfer and frontiers in biomedical sciences. In addition to book chapters, she has published numerous frequently cited articles in peer‐
reviewed high‐impact journals, listing many of her undergraduate students as co‐
authors. Extending on her work in cancer cell biology, Dr. Osman’s research program focuses on the cellular and molecular underpinnings that link several types of cancer to type 2 diabetes, and utilizes drug discovery as chemical genetic approach to understanding the involved pathways. Some of her projects focus on the disparity of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), and the link between beta cell function and proliferation. She widely collaborates with scientists and clinician researches in institutions in Georgia as well as at Brown University, Harvard‐ Joslin Diabetes Center and UCLA Medical School. She holds the position of adjunct Associate Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at Brown University Medical School and joint appointment as Associate Professor of Biology and Chemistry at Savannah State University. Meet Dr.
Darkus Jenkins
CHEMISTRY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE C&FS NEWS | Issue 1 6
Dr. Jenkins earned a BS in Chemistry from SSU in 2004, MS in Chemistry from North Carolina A&T State University, and Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Systems also from NCAT. She taught in the Department of Chemistry from 2012‐2013. She left NCAT to work for the U.S. Geological Survey in Lawrence, KS where she worked on several projects including the assessment of occurrence, fate, transport, and effects of pesticides, their degradants, and ingredients from various sources in soil and water samples. She also developed analytical methods for identifying organic contaminates in soil and water samples using LC/MS/MS. Her research interest include the theoretical studies, synthesis, characterization, and luminescence of metal complexes to study their structure, electronic and photophysical properties, and applicable uses as chemical sensors and medicinal devices. She joined SSU in fall 2015 as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. She is interested in developing computational chemistry and inorganic synthesis courses. Meet Mrs.
Desiree Lonon
Desiree Lonon is an Adjunct Professor in the department of Chemistry at Savannah State University. Her work experience includes over 11 years as a research and development chemist for a local company that manufactures catalysts for petroleum oil refining. She also has experience in environmental studies for the registration of pesticides, and teaching science courses at the college level as well. Mrs. Lonon has earned a B.S in chemistry from Savannah State University and an M.S. in chemistry from North Carolina A&T State University. Her research efforts include thesis research entitled: Photocatalytic Degradation of Chlorazol Black E (Direct Black 38) Over Supported Titanium Dioxide Catalyst. Alumni
Spotlight: Dr.
Shaletha
Holmes
What degrees or training do
you have? From what schools?
B.S. in Chemistry from Savannah State University and PhD in Pharmacology and Neuroscience from University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC). What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishments (both personally and professionally)? My greatest accomplishments are obtaining a PhD in Pharmacology and Neuroscience; publishing papers in Endocrinology, NIH Neurobiology of Aging Intramural Training Grant; NIH Minority Opportunities in Research and Education Predoctoral Fellowship, 2015; American Physiology Society Conference Travel Award for Gender and Physiology; and Induction to Sigma Xi Research Society How did you become interested in your field? I have always been interested in science and healthcare. I obtained my nursing assistant certification in high school. In college, I majored in Chemistry and took extra biology courses to go to medical school. However, I explored other opportunities related to medicine in college, such as research. The PSLSAMP program at Savannah State University afforded me the prospect to explore my research interests on and off campus that fueled my interests in debilitating conditions. Where do you work, what is your current position and what do you enjoy most about your current career position? I am still employed by UNTHSC as a Research Teaching Assistant but I will transition into a postdoctoral position in the spring. I enjoy bench work and research in general. What have been the biggest challenges in your career? Did your undergraduate experiences help you to overcome any obstacles you may have faced in CHEMISTRY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE C&FS NEWS | Issue 1 7
graduate school? The biggest challenge in my career has been the milestones in obtaining my PhD. Yes; I have had the pleasure of great professors in the chemistry department who have motivated me expand my knowledge and rise above expectations. Describe any significant experiences you had at SSU. How did those experiences help you navigate your way to where you are today? Dr. Ola assigned homework that required more than the course book to answer the questions. I remember telling him I could not find the answer and he said... I was not looking hard enough. From then on, I learned to use all my resources at my expense including the internet to answer questions and solve problems that arise in research. What advice would you give to current SSU students or recent SSU graduates who aspire to follow a similar career path? Set realistic goals to achieve your career interests, do not forget to network and do your research on graduate schools and potential professors. What was your favorite course while at SSU, why was this your favorite course, and who was the instructor? One of my favorite courses was Research with Dr. Hua Zhao. Research allowed me to spend more time in lab and focus on my studies with Dr. Zhao, so that I had more free time after hours. What would you say to future tigers who are considering SSU? SSU is a great university to build your foundation in starting a career and there are numerous opportunities available at SSU. Explore all the resources that are at your fingertips. What techniques did you learn at SSU that you found helpful in graduate school/current position? Most of the techniques I have learned at Savannah State revolved around lab procedures such as pipetting and using the different instruments of HPLC and Spectrometers. I use all of these techniques and more to conduct research in my field. What advice do you have for undergraduate students planning to enroll in graduate school? Do your research on the graduate institutions of your choice and don’t be afraid to contact professors with similar work interests. What do you enjoy doing with your free time? In my free time, I enjoy running, going to the gym, shopping and TV. C&FS
December 2015
graduates: (From left to right) Toiskii Smith, Quanesha Williams, Shakema Bowman, Christal Driver, Kizmi Clark, David Oguoma‐Richards CHEMISTRY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE C&FS NEWS | Issue 1 8
Chemistry and Forensic Science
Contact Information
Dr. Hua Zhao
C&FS Department Chair
Professor of Chemistry
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 912-358-4448
Dr. Karla-Sue Marriott
Forensic Science Program Coordinator
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Forensic
Science
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 912-358-4454
Dr. Kelvin Frazier, a Chemistry and Mathematics alumni of SSU and an MIT graduate, was a guest lecturer during 2015 National Chemistry Week celebrations at SSU. He was introduced by his undergraduate research mentor, Dr. Cecil Jones. Mrs. Regina Brockington
C&FS Secretary
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 912-358-4435
Chemistry
and
Forensic
Science
C&FS News
C&FS Faculty
Chemistry Program: Prof. Janie Baker, Dr. Darkus Jenkins,
Dr. Pascal Binda, Dr. Cecil Jones, Dr. Zhiyan Song, Dr. Hua
Zhao, Dr. Mahasin Osman, Dr. Adegboye Adeyemo, & Dr.
Olarongbe Olubajo
Forensic Science Program: Dr. Edugie Ekuase, Dr. Kai Shen,
& Dr. Karla-Sue Marriott
Lecturers: Dr. Tao Huang & Dr. Martins Odetokun
Adjunct Instructors: Ms. Desiree Lonon
C&FS News Staff:
Editor: Edugie Ekuase, 912-358-4457, [email protected]
Co-editor: Darkus Jenkins, 912-358-4390, [email protected]