Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, 2008-
Research Fellow, George Whitesides Group, Harvard University, 2006-2008
Developed new materials and detection platforms with applications in
medicine, drug development, and less-industrialized nations.
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Matthew Shair Group, Harvard University, 2004-2006
Designed, synthesized, and analyzed the behavior of beta-strand and beta-sheet mimics.
Determined the energies associated with amino acid interactions in beta-sheets.
Developed chemical hosts to recognize peptide guests sequence-selectively in
water.
Education
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2004
boss Paul A. Bartlett
Designed, synthesized, and analyzed the behavior of beta-strand and beta-sheet mimics.
Determined the energies associated with amino acid interactions in beta-sheets.
Developed chemical hosts to recognize peptide guests sequence-selectively in
water.
B.S., California State University, San Bernardino, 1999
research area:
Chemistry for Resource-Limited Environments
We are using organic chemistry to create autonomous diagnostics
--that is, diagnostic devices that provide all of the functions typically obtained with instruments i.e., (selectivity, sensitivity, quantitative measurements, and clearly displayed information), but using only organic reactions on a piece of paper. Our goal is to devise chemistry that forms the basis for exceedingly simple and disposable diagnostics devices. These systems will be useful in the developing world, emergency rooms, and other applications requiring portable and inexpensive devices for detecting disease or pollution. Projects in this area include: (i) Developing new reagents and strategies for signal and target amplification; (ii) developing new reactions for activity–based detection; and (iii) developing new strategies and new reagents for stabilizing biomolecules.
Designing Living
Materials
We are developing materials that respond to external signals by changing shape, function, and/or surface properties. This work can be extended to developing materials that grow, and possibly divide. One aspect of this work includes the design and synthesis of environmentally–friendly plastics.
Unconventional Reaction Methodology
As the price of crude oil continues to rise, so too will prices of bulk chemicals derived from oil. We are developing reactions that use CO2 as an inexpensive carbon source (in place of oil) for making bulk chemical building blocks.
A second program in this area focuses on reaction networks that are self-perpetuating, the simplest of which is an autocatalytic reaction (where a molecule makes more of itself). We plan to expand autocatalytic behavior into more complex reaction networks, with the goal of developing systems that provide useful function and/or byproducts.
