Six Chemistry PhD students awarded National Science Foundation fellowships
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected six PhD students in Chemistry for its prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
Ryan Anderson, Zach Boyer, Georgina Dabdoub, Maria Guerrero, Halle Marvich, and Aurora Miranda were chosen for the five-year fellowship because their research is on the path to making significant advancements.
As NSF Fellows, they will receive three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000.
Learn more about the fellows’ research below.
Meet the NSF Fellows:
Ryan Anderson
Second-year PhD student
Research: “My project focuses on understanding how proteins transition between multiple conformations to regulate biological function. I am using both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and computational techniques to study proteins related to numerous diseases, including bacterial infection, cancers, diabetes, and obesity. Understanding how protein motions regulate biological function has the potential to lead to new treatments for a variety of diseases.”
Zach Boyer
Second-year PhD student
Research: “An essential feature of modern drug discovery is the development of new chemical functionality toward accessing underexplored and/or unknown chemical space. In pursuit of these goals, novel synthetic methodologies must be developed. In the Ellman Lab, we focus on the development of synthetic organic methodologies for the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant motifs. Currently, my research focuses on the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of S-methyl and S-cyclopropyl sulfoximines, which are the substitution patterns found in all sulfoximine-containing clinical candidates—importantly, no asymmetric catalytic method for general access to S-methyl or S-cyclopropyl sulfoximines exists.”
Georgina Collette Dabdoub
Third-year PhD student
Research: “I am studying an uncharacterized human gene, C1ORF122, which undergoes alternative splicing to produce novel protein isoforms using biochemical techniques. Studying C1ORF122 will reveal previously unknown mechanisms by which genetic diversity is generated in organisms and highlight the importance of studying alternative proteins. Furthermore, this gene is thought to have implications in melanoma and Galloway-Mowat syndrome.”
Maria Daniela Guerrero
Second-year PhD student
Research: “We are combining multi-step synthesis with peptide-catalyzed late-stage functionalization of lowly oxidized complex natural products. Accessing novel analogs could facilitate the development of new pharmaceuticals, as well as opening up a chemical space for the functionalization of non-functionalized scaffolds.”
Halle Marvich
Second-year PhD student
Research: “The field of asymmetric catalysis is important in advancing our ability to access enantiomerically pure compounds. In the Miller Lab, we use nature-inspired peptides as chiral catalysts to carry out a wide variety of asymmetric transformations. My research has focused on the development of a novel class of metal-binding peptides for applications in asymmetric organometallic reactions. Currently, I am working to apply this new catalyst class to achieve enantioselective metal-catalyzed oxidations.”
Aurora Miranda
Second-year PhD student
Research: “I study the yeast frataxin homolog Yfh1, which unfolds at both cold and hot temperatures. Through various biophysical techniques, I study how changes in the cellular environment influence the folding behavior of Yfh1. Using Fast Relaxation Imaging (FReI) to study protein folding and dynamics in cells of differentiated zebrafish tissues, my research aims to understand how organisms maintain protein homeostasis in response to thermal stress.”
This story was originally published on the Chemistry Department's website. Read more