News

Prof. Andro Rios and Students Featured in Washington Square Magazine

Oct. 25, 2024

Professor Andro Rios and his students at SJSU were featured in Washington Square Magazine for their work in astrobiology with NASA through the ASPIRE (Astrobiology Scholars Program Immersive Research Experience) program. Professor Rios leads a NASA-funded initiative through the ASPIRE program, designed to foster diversity in space science. This program connects SJSU and community college students with research internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center, where they work with ancient meteorite samples and explore astrobiology. ASPIRE helps students gain hands-on experience and develop careers in exobiology and space research. Prof. Rios aims to establish a long-term astrobiology research program at SJSU. Learn more here.

Sudharsan Dwaraknath, Co-founder of Quorum Bio, Pioneers Agricultural Biotechnology for Marginalized Communities

Aug. 22, 2024
Sudharsan Dwaraknath, an esteemed alumnus of San José State University (BS Chemistry, 2013), co-founded Quorum Bio, a company at the forefront of agricultural biotechnology. With a strong focus on addressing global challenges, Dwaraknath's work is centered on developing technologies that improve crop resilience and productivity, particularly in regions vulnerable to climate change. His commitment to leveraging science for social good drives Quorum Bio's mission to enhance food security and sustainability, making a lasting impact on communities around the world. Dwaraknath's leadership exemplifies the innovative spirit cultivated at SJSU. To learn more about his journey, read the full article on C&EN here.

Introducing the Ruth P. Yaffee Endowment Fund

Aug. 20, 2024

During her 35-year tenure, Ruth P. Yaffe taught Honors Freshman Chemistry as well as Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Safety, and Radiation Safety. Among her many achievements, she was the first woman to be tenured in the School of Science. She was also instrumental in the design of the Duncan Hall science building, established and led the Nuclear Science Center, and served multiple terms on university budget, curriculum and recruitment committees and one term chairing the academic senate, all contributing to the development of San Jose into one of the leading California State University campuses for science and engineering. 

Ruth wanted to encourage the best students—in particular, women—to pursue science graduate degrees. Over 20 years, Ruth P. Yaffe recommended students to work in the Atomic Energy Commission summer lab with the Livermore Laboratory. In addition she sent about 500 students on to graduate school in science, medicine and law. 

The Ruth P. Yaffe Endowment Fund will be a permanent endowment to provide long term, sustaining support to benefit the Chemistry Department, including nuclear science. At the Dean’s discretion the annual endowment distribution may be used for: 

• Student research support
• Equipment needs for the Chemistry/Nuclear Science program
• Other uses which will benefit the education and research missions in Chemistry and/or Nuclear Science.
• Student scholarships, with a preference for students involved in research and have demonstrated financial need. 

The donors’ preference is for maximum impact, allowing multi-year accumulations of distributions or occasional re-investments back to the principal fund if/when this is deemed desirable. To make a gift supporting the Ruth P. Yaffe Endowment, click here. Make sure to select "Choose a Giving Opportunity" and type in "Ruth P. Yaffee Endowment Fund" in the box. 

Professor Esker and SJSU undergrads participate in ground-breaking nuclear chemistry research at LBNL 

July 31, 2024

Prof. Esker, along with SJSU undergraduates Brandon Barrios, Willem Botha, Melanie Segura Guerrero, and Phu Vo (all members of Prof. Esker's research group) recently participated in ground-breaking nuclear chemistry research at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. The team at Berkeley Lab successfully created element 116 (livermorium) using a titanium beam, marking a crucial step towards synthesizing element 120. This breakthrough, reported at the Nuclear Structure 2024 conference, involved a 22-day operation at the 88-Inch Cyclotron. Creating element 120, which would be the heaviest atom and part of the "island of stability," requires a titanium-50 beam and a californium-249 target. The project showcases significant advancements in producing superheavy elements, with potential attempts to synthesize element 120 starting in 2025. Though the publication is still under peer review, this work has already garnered substantial press coverage (e.g. Science, Nature, Scientific American) Additionally, a pre-print of the article is available on the arXiv, and full press release describing their work can be found here.

Professor Rios and the SJSU Astrobiology Research Group host the UC Davis EAOP program 

July 25, 2024

On July 25, twenty high school students from the UC Davis Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) visited SJSU and participated in a summer chemistry engagement activity with Professor Rios.  Dr. Rios and a few of his students from the SJSU Astrobiology Research Group facilitated a hands-on activity to introduce and demonstrate the relevance of organic chemistry to everyday life. EAOP participants were also introduced to how organic chemistry as a discipline advances discoveries to the interdisciplinary field of science known as Astrobiology. The activity was previously developed by Professor Rios and allows participants to interact with and develop an appreciation of organic compounds from terrestrial and extraterrestrial sources in a safe and engaging manner. 

Professor Muller is awarded highly prestigious SJSU President's Scholar award for 2023/2024

April 10, 2024

Professor Gilles Muller Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar in the Departent of Chemistr at SJSU was recently awarded the prestigious SJSU President's Scholar award for 2023/2024. The award is in recognition of Prof. Muller's outstanding work as a teacher-scholar at SJSU. Since joining SJSU in 2004, Chemistry Prof. Muller has secured over $2 million in funding, mentored nearly 90 students, and published 71 peer-reviewed articles and 43 seminars. Under his mentorship, Prof. Muller's students have co-authored 54 publications and engaged in international collaborations. An expert in circularly polarized luminescence (CPL), his collaborations span China, Poland, Spain, and the Czech Republic. CPL, which involves studying the interaction of circularly polarized light (the electric field vector of the light rotates in a circular motion as it propagates) with different molecules of interest, which has applications in chemistry, biology, materials science, and optics. His lab hosts a diverse group of scholars from various countries and educational levels. Muller finds joy in both research and teaching, valuing the interplay between the two. In response to winning the award, Prof. Muller stated "I am honored and grateful to receive the 2023-24 President’s Scholar Award," he says. "This honor represents more than just an individual accomplishment; it underscores the significance of collaboration and the value of engaging students in enriching research endeavors. It serves as a testament to the remarkable outcomes that arise from collective scholarly efforts, highlighting the transformative potential when we unite as a community dedicated to a shared purpose." Prof. Muller has also served as associate dean of research and chair of the Chemistry Department at SJSU. He expressed gratitude for receiving the 2023-24 President’s Scholar Award, highlighting the importance of collaboration and student engagement in research.

Professor Rios is awarded a NASA Grant to initiate an Astrobiology Scholars Program between SJSU, Skyline College and NASA Ames Research Center

Apr. 9, 2024

Professor Rios was recently funded to serve as the Principal Investigator(PI) of a two-year Bridge SEED grant (totaling $331k) for a proposal entitled, “Astrobiology Scholars Program Immersive Research Experience (ASPIRE)” from NASA Research Announcement (NRA) NNH23ZDA001N (ROSES-2023), F.23 Bridge Program Seed Funding (BPSF). The SMD Bridge program’s goal is to develop sustainable partnerships among institutions historically under-resourced by NASA and NASA Centers or Facilities.  The goal of ASPIRE led by PI Rios is to develop long-term collaborations between faculty and students from SJSU and Skyline College (a two-year institution in the San Mateo Community College District) with scientists at NASA Ames Research Center. ASPIRE will leverage the diverse expertise found within the Exobiology Branch at Ames to give Scholars an opportunity to conduct research that contributes to two pillars of Astrobiology: origins of life on Earth and the search for life elsewhere. As a full year immersive program, Scholars participate in academic year activities focused on mentoring in research and professional development that enhance their summer research activities. Under ASPIRE, all Scholars are supported by year-round stipends that match the calculated living wage rate for Silicon Valley.

Professor Rios helps establish a newly funded research collaboration between SJSU and NASA JPL

Apr. 8, 2024

Professor Rios and Dr. Mauro Ferriera Santos at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) received an internal award from the JPL Center for Academic Partnerships for a project entitled, “Establishing a collaboration in life detection science with a new faculty member at San Jose State University'. This funding ($21k for 8 months) will provide opportunities for a student from SJSU to participate in research with Dr. Santos for 10 weeks at JPL in Pasadena this upcoming summer, 2024. The award will also provide funding for Dr. Santos to come to SJSU and for Dr. Rios to visit JPL for generating longer term collaborative projects. 

Prof. Eggers Retires with a Flurry (of publications)

Mar. 18, 2024 

Professor Daryl Eggers officially retired from the Chemistry Department in May of 2023, but some of his most important research findings are just now available to the scientific community. When questioned about the timing of this productivity, Dr. Eggers stated “I was determined to share these results and ideas with the biophysical community, and retirement freed up the time to read and think deeply about the work while writing the manuscripts.” Research in the Eggers Laboratory has focused on understanding the energetic role of water in binding and conformational equilibria, prompting a new thermodynamic framework that accounts for the change in solvation energy when two reactant surfaces make contact with one another. Regarding the new framework, Dr. Eggers said “our governing equation is viewed as controversial by many biophysical scientists, but I am hopeful that our approach may one day be recognized as an important pivot in the application of thermodynamics to solution equilibria. If the scientific community ever takes notice, these last three papers should become the most cited works of my career.”

Link and TOC graphics for three papers:
Supramolecular Chem (https://doi.org/10.1080/10610278.2023.2254442)

ACS Omega (https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c09329)

bioRxiv (https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.15.585270)

Retirement gift from Department:

Prof. Grazioli Publishes Research Paper on an Artificial Intelligence for Simulated Evolution of Models of Amyloid Fibril Formation

Feb. 15, 2024

The latest article from the Grazioli Research Group (GRG), titled "Genetic Algorithm for Automated Parameterization of Network Hamiltonian Models of Amyloid Fibril Formation," was just published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Physical Chemistry B:

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07322 

This work is aimed at tackling the timescale gap in simulating protein aggregation leading to amyloid fibrils, which are related to diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington's disease. The AI-generated coarse-grained molecular simulations, which were optimized using a genetic algorithm - a form of AI that simulates evolution to produce better and better models with each new generation, were shown to exceed previous model performance, and offer insights into possible mechanisms of amyloid fibril formation. The article was co-authored by 3 undergraduate SJSU students: Andy Tao, Inika Bhatia, and Patrick Regan! 

This work was supported by a research grant through the National Institutes of Health (1R16GM150706), as well as a CSUPERB research grant through the California State University system. 

Additionally, the artwork above, created by Prof. Grazioli, was selected as a supplemental cover for this issue of the Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

Cover art description: Working with artificial intelligence can be a surreal experience. A type of AI called a genetic algorithm is introduced that is capable of discovering network Hamiltonian models (NHMs), which are coarse-grained models of molecular self-assembly, that produce maximal topological structure found in amyloid fibrils (well-known for their association with diseases like Alzheimer’s disease). The algorithm begins with a gene pool of low fibril yield models (represented by the ocean of low fibril yield networks), allows the models to evolve through breeding and natural selection (represented by the tree), and ultimately produces high fibril yield models (the orange and cyan colored networks). The 1,2 2-ribbon network structures shown are the most abundant amyloid fibril topology found in the PDB, exemplified by the protein structure shown behind the tree (PDB ID: 5KK3). 

Prof. Resa Kelly is Elected Chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Education and Also Publishes New Article in the Journal of Chemical Education

Feb. 11, 2024

Prof. Resa Kelly, the newly elected 2024 Chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Education, began service as Chair-Elect in 2023 when she facilitated the organization of a strategic planning retreat. Now at the helm of the Division, Kelly is focused on implementing the Strategic Plan, rallying volunteers, and initiating impactful projects.

In a notable collaboration with Vicente Talanquer, Kelly recently co-authored a paper published in the Journal of Chemical Education titled: "Thinking and Learning in Nested Systems: The Individual Level." Drawing from conversations held during her sabbatical at the University of Arizona, Talanquer and Kelly explore the dynamics of individual student learning, shedding light on the complexities inherent in this process.

Prof. Wang Publishes Research Paper on the Effects of Resveratrol on SIRT1

August 30, 2023

The work carried out by Dr. Wang investigates the dual regulatory effects of resveratrol, a small molecule regulator, on the activity of SIRT1, a crucial enzyme involved in cellular processes, and addresses the current knowledge gap in understanding the detailed mechanism of SIRT1 regulation. Our results from enzyme kinetics, protein stability, protein conformation, and binding studies suggest that the effects of resveratrol on SIRT1 are not simply on a linear spectrum, from inhibiting to activating. Instead, we propose that activation and inhibition of SIRT1 by resveratrol are carried out through two fundamentally different mechanisms. These findings shed light on the intricate regulatory mechanism of SIRT1 by resveratrol and provide insights into the conformational changes and substrate interactions underlying the dual effects. This knowledge is crucial for the development of targeted therapeutics and for assessing potential side effects of SIRT1 regulators in diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes. The study also highlights the importance of considering multiple peptide substrates in assessing the effects of regulators, moving beyond the limitations of previous studies that focused on a few canonical substrates. Overall, this work contributes to our understanding of SIRT1 regulation and lays the foundation for future research and development of therapeutic interventions targeting SIRT1 in various diseases. Link to Dr. Wang's Article

NIH Research Grant Awarded to Prof. Grazioli to Develop Computer Simulation Methodology for Studying Amyloid Fibril Formation. 

August 25, 2023

 Prof. Grazioli was recently awarded a research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This award of $714,000 over 4 years will fund a research project underway in the Grazioli Research Group (GRG) titled "Probing Amyloid Fibril Self-Assembly with Network Hamiltonian Simulations in Explicit Space," (National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health award number R16GM150706) and will be focused on developing coarse-grained computer simulation methods for studying the mechanism of formation of protein aggregates that have been implicated in a number of human diseases, such as type II diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. This interdisciplinary project will combine theoretical frameworks from network statistics (exponential-family random graph models), computational fluid dynamics, statistical mechanics, and artificial intelligence, and will require Prof. Grazioli and his students to build a custom simulation software package, which will be made freely available as open source software. Broader impacts of the work include not only making network Hamiltonian simulations more readily comparable with experiments, such as dye-binding fluorescence kinetic assays, but also increasing the capabilities of network Hamiltonian models as a predictive tool for elucidating the few-body intermolecular interactions from which the molecular self-assembly into large supramolecular structures are an emergent property.        

Project on Diamond and Nitrogen Vacancy Center Photophysics Awarded by NSF

February 27, 2023

Diamond with its amazing physical properties usually associated with fine gem stones is also an emergent material in photonics, biolabeling and quantum sensing. The surface of diamond, while notoriously difficult to modify, is the target of a recently awarded NSF grant to the lab of Prof. Abe Wolcott (NSF LEAPS). Investigating new surface chemistry and its effect on electric field sensing by the fluorescent nitrogen vacancy center (NVC) are the main aims. NVCs are very sensitive to magnetic and electric fields and can be used in applicationa such as chemical analysis (similar to NMR) and pH sensing. Because the NVC is also a quantum bit, or qubit, it can be used in encoding and transmitting information. The project should have a broad impact in the field of materials science and those using spin defects in diamond for quantum detection. The work will be carried out by an ultradiverse team of researchers and in collaboration with the Black Leadership and Opportunity Center or BLOC.

Prof. Grazioli Publishes an Article on Instructional Activities using his Fluid Simulation Software 

February 7, 2023

Prof. Grazioli recently published a peer-reviewed article with 4 SJSU student co-authors in the ACS Journal of Chemical Education titled "Foregrounding the Code: Computational Chemistry Instructional Activities Using a Highly Readable Fluid Simulation Code." The article demonstrates two instructional activities for teaching computational chemistry to students that emphasizes students working directly with computer code. This approach is motivated by Dr. Grazioli's teaching philosophy that, just as students of organic chemistry need experience working directly with the chemicals and laboratory equipment used by professional organic chemists, so too do students of computational chemistry need experience with one of the professional computational chemist's core skills: writing code. The activities are centered around a Lennard-Jones fluid simulation code that Dr. Grazioli wrote in Python to maximize the readability of the simulation code for students. The article is freely available to the public through the CSU's open publishing agreement with the CSU, and the simulation code and Jupyter Notebook for the activity are freely downloadable from Dr. Grazioli's GitHub page. 

Prof. Muller Publishes Two Research Papers with Cover Features 

January 21, 2023

Prof. Gilles Muller recently published two research papers with two alumni of his research group in the Dept. of Chemistry at SJSU. One of the papers, published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry, is titled Tuning CPL by helical pitch modulation in helically-flexible small organic multichromophores (below top). This work is in collaboration with Prof. Santiago de la Moya at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and involved contributions from Prof. Muller's student Muzuki Johnson. The other paper, titled Vortex Flow-controlled Circularly Polarized Luminescence of Achiral Pt(II) Complex Aggregates Assembled at the Air-water Interface Small Methods, was published in Small Methods (below bottom). That was done in collaboration with Prof. Takeshi Naota of Osaka University and involved work carried out by Prof. Muller's student Shing Cho Ma.

Prof. Madalyn Radlauer publishes editoral titled "Games for the Inorganic Chemistry Classroom" 

July 27, 2022

Prof. Madalyn Radlauer recently published an editoral titled "Games for the Inorganic Chemistry Classroom" in the ACS journal Inorganic Chemistry (link). The article highlights educational games as a tool for active learning, also known as Game-Based Learning, in the chemistry classroom. The article aims to inspire instructors to consider chemistry games for their classroom and also to consider crafting games of their own.

July 26, 2022

Undergraduate researcher and recent physics graduate Camron X. Stokes (Fall 2021) in the Wolcott lab has been recognized for research excellence by the American Chemical Society. The award is in recognition of Camron's recent publication, cover art and resulting patent with nanoscale diamond chemistry and a discovering a new route to manipulate the world's toughest material. The Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry has selected Camron as a COLL-PUI awardee and will give an invited lecture entitled, " Exploiting the metastable brominated diamond surface for amine functionalization with linear, cyclic and branched amine" at the national meeting of the ACS in Chicago, IL this Fall. Along with giving the invited lecture, Camron will also receive his award placard from the Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry.  Congratulations Camron!

Congratulations to the class of 2022!

May 26, 2022

Prof. Esker Wins Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Early Career Faculty Development Grant

May 20, 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Nicholas Esker, who recently received a  Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) early career faculty development grant to support the Esker group’s nuclear science and targetry research. Dr. Nicholas Esker and his group investigate methods to produce and study nuclei far from stability. The proposed project will build the necessary capabilities in SJSU’s Nuclear Science Facility in Duncan Hall to produce thin film samples of low-activity actinides such as thorium & uranium. These thin films, known as targets, are used in low energy nuclear reaction studies to investigate the production and decay of heavy nuclei. An important component in this project is student training, as this support will introduce SJSU students to nuclear science & train them in various thin film production and characterization techniques. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to revitalize the Nuclear Science Facility with a long-term research active faculty.

Prof. Grazioli Wins CSUPERB Faculty-Student Collaborative Research New Investigator Grant

Congratulations to Prof. Gianmarc Grazioli on winning a CSUPERB Faculty-Student Collaborative Research New Investigator Grant! The New Investigator Grant Program aims to provide recently hired CSU faculty with the resources required to successfully compete for follow-on, externally-funded grants and to involve CSU students in their research programs. This grant will provide salaries to two student researchers, who will work with Dr. Grazioli over the summer, to develop novel software that leverages network statistical models and molecular dynamics to simulate the self-assembly of amyloid fibrils. The formation of amyloid fibrils is central to a variety of human diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.

Prof. Muller Wins CSUPERB Research Development Grant

May 6, 2022

Congratulations to Prof. Gilles Muller, who won a CSUPERB Research Development Grant to develop streamlined techniques for elucidating chiral structures. Chirality is an important property of majority of biomolecules that greatly influences their function such that only one of the two enantiomeric forms is functional in biological systems. In addition, the increasing applications of optically active substances in various industries (food, agrochemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceutical etc.) has fueled interest in developing methods to recognize and separate chiral enantiomers. The Muller lab uses circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) spectroscopy as a valuable tool to aid in the identification of chiral molecules. The overall goal of this proposal is to further develop CPL as a technique for chiral elucidation, with superior sensitivity, reliability, ease of use, and minimal sample preparation.

Prof. Radlauer Wins SJSU Research Foundation Early Career Investigator Award (ECIA). 

April 14, 2022

Congratulations to Prof. Madalyn Radlauer who received the 2021 Early Career Investigator Award (ECIA) given by the San José State University Research Foundation! The award, presented during the annual SJSU Celebration of Research, recognizes tenure-track SJSU faculty who have excelled in areas of research, scholarship, and creative activity during their probationary period at SJSU. One recipient for this prestigious award is chosen from the College of Science or College of Engineering each year. 

Prof. Tran Wins Award from Mission College 

May 22, 2022

Congratulations to Prof. Anh-Tuyet Tran, recipient of the 2022 Academic Senate Excellence Award from Mission College! In addition to her success at Mission College, Dr. Tran has been an integral part of the San José State University Department of Chemistry for many years. 

Prof. Kelly Receives Mosher Award

February 7, 2022

Prof. Resa Kelly was recently awarded the Harry and Carol Mosher Award by the Silicon Valley ACS local section. This award recognized outstanding work in chemistry, advancement of chemistry as a profession, and service to the ACS. Prof. Kelly will present her research at the virtual SVACS Mosher Award presentation ceremony on March 3, 2022.

Prof. Wolcott’s Work Featured on Cover

January 27, 2022

Prof. Abraham Wolcott’s work was featured on the cover of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. In the research article, he describes the work to activate the surface chemistry of nanodiamonds. The multi-institute collaboration involved investigators from SJSU, The Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, NIST and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The work at SJSU was conducted by a team of students including Cynthia Melendrez, Jorge Lopez-Rosas, Camron X. Stokes, Megan Cheung, Jocelyn Valenzuela, Grace Jeanpierre, Halim Muhammad, Polo Tran, and Perla Jasmine Sandoval. The work has potential applications in biological labeling, magnetic sensing and quantum communication.

Prof. Esker and Colleagues Awarded DOE Grant

December 10, 2021

A consortium of 17 institutions, including eight minority-serving institutions (MSI) and three DOE national laboratories, has been awarded a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a first-of-its-kind traineeship program in isotope research and development, production and processing that aims to develop the future isotope production workforce for the nation and the DOE Isotope Program (IP). This novel collaboration, known as the Horizon-broadening Isotope Production Pipeline Opportunities (HIPPO) program, features 17 co-principal investigators across this nation.  As a co-PI, Prof. Nicholas Esker will be pursuing thin-film targetry for isotope production while coordinating with and supporting the affiliated MSIs.   HIPPO will broaden and diversify the next-generation workforce by promoting innovative and transformative approaches to isotope production and processing as well as student recruitment and preparation. According to DOE Isotope Program Director Dr. Jehanne Gillo. “To ensure a strong and innovative program in the future, it is critical to nurture a broad and diverse workforce.”

Highlight on Prof. Van Wyngarden’s Work on the ISB

December 1, 2021
The Fall/Winter issue of the Washington Square Magazine highlighted the work Prof. Annalise Van Wyngarden has contributed to the design of the new Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB). Prof. Alberto Rascón was also interviewed for the story. The ISB is planned to open in 2023 and will dramatically modernize the facilities for teaching and research in synthetic chemistry and biochemistry.

Prof. Rascón named member of ASBMB’s Minority Affairs Committee

October 23, 2021

Prof. Alberto Rascón was selected to serve on the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Minority Affairs Committee, which is striving to increase cultural diversity through participation, visibility, and status of minorities in biochemistry and molecular biology. Prof. Rascón shared, “As an underrepresented minority scientist, I am deeply humbled to have been selected to continue my efforts in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, not only in my classes and research, but also in a very important scientific society.”

SAACS Celebrates 80th Anniversary

October 22, 2021

The Student Associates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS), also known as the Chemistry Club, was founded in June 2021. SAACS hosted a reception in the breezeway of Duncan Hall to celebrate their 80 years at SJSU. 

Prof. Wolcott and Colleagues Receive NSF Grant

October 15, 2021

Prof. Abraham Wolcott, Prof. Wei Wu (Fresno State), Prof. Vivien Luo (Fresno State),  Prof. Sara Kassis (Sonoma State), and Dean Elizabeth Wade (Sonoma State) received a $1M National Science Foundation award through the division of undergraduate education. The goal of the project is to use advanced virtual reality and extended reality technology to advance STEM equity at Cal State Universities and community colleges. The grant will assemble a faculty learning community to build the use and expertise of educators with extended reality technology. Contact Prof. Wolcott if you are a SJSU faculty member interested in VR for your classroom ($2,500 stipend, see www.sjsu.edu/wolcott).

Prof. Radlauer Awarded NSF Grant

September 15, 2021

Prof. Madalyn Radlauer received an NSF award to develop star polymers to enable tandem catalysis, where two or more catalytic reactions occur in the same flask. The polymer will spatially isolate organometallic catalysts, which would otherwise be incompatible, to enable multistep catalysis in a single flask. The funds will also support Prof. Radlauer’s goal to expand participation in research by undergraduates at SJSU and local community colleges and to support the development of a mentoring program at SJSU.

Prof. Kelly Wins CoS Award

August 18, 2021

Prof. Resa Kelly was chosen as the Dean's Scholar, recognizing her research excellence in Chemical Education. Professor Kelly's research interests involve studying how students learn, use and modify their understanding of chemistry concepts and mechanisms after viewing and reflecting on molecular level visualizations. She designs the videos and atomic level animations she studies, and she examines their pedagogical implementation. 

Prof. Rascón Wins CoS Award

August 18, 2021

Prof. Alberto Rascón was recognized for his work mentoring students and involving them in his research on the inhibition of proteases in Aedes aegypti. This mosquito spreads a number of debilitating viruses to humans, so the ultimate goal of the work is to develop a new control strategy to reduce the mosquito population and viral pathogen transmission. Prof. Rascón takes great pride in mentoring undergraduate and masters-level research students and preparing them for jobs in biotech or graduate and professional programs.

Prof. Radlauer Develops Game

August 18, 2021

Prof. Madalyn Radlauer released a game to help students learn symmetry adapted linear combinations of ligand atomic orbitals. She developed the game with Dr. Zachary Thammavongsy at Chapman University to help students better understand molecular orbital theory.

Women in Science Outreach

June 15, 2021

Dr. Elizabeth Migicovsky, Prof. Laura Miller Conrad, and Prof. Ningkun Wang recorded virtual story times for the Redwood City Library. The Stories from Your Community: Women in Science event was organized by Dr. Migicovsky and Redwood City Librarian Pam Evans. Check out more of the series at the Redwood City Library.

Prof. Muller's Research Makes Cover

June 14, 2021

The work of Prof. Gilles Muller, student Shing Cho Ma, and coworkers from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n and Universidad del País Vasco-EHU was featured on the cover of Chemical Communications. The research article describes the development of their BODIPY scaffold for use in circularly polarized luminescence, with applications ranging from medical imaging to 3-D display technology.

Congrats, Graduates!

May 2021

Join us in celebrating the Chemistry class of 2021! See the video below for congratulatory messages from faculty and highlights of our graduates.

Students Compete in SJSU and CSU Research Competitions

Spring 2021

Muhammad Khan and Nicholas Roubineau were two of eight student winners of the 2021 SJSU Student RSCA Competition, also qualifying them to represent SJSU at the 35th Annual CSU Student Research Competition. The CSU competition was hosted virtually by Cal Poly Pomona, where nearly 200 student projects were presented across 22 sections. Muhammad won the “Biological and Agricultural Sciences (Undergraduate)” section for his presentation on "Mutagenesis and Recombinant Expression of Aedes aegypti Serine Protease I (AaSPI), a possible N-Terminal Nucleophile (Ntn) Hydrolase."

Muhammad Khan

Muhammad is a Biological Sciences major who conducts research in the Rascón lab, where his research focuses on a serine protease from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a major vector for virus transmission. This and the other midgut proteases are only expressed after a blood meal has been consumed and are responsible for degrading blood meal proteins into the nutrients needed for egg production. Characterizing the proteases used in blood meal digestion biochemically will aid in the development of an alternative vector control strategy targeting the mosquito. 

Nicholas Roubineau

Nick is a Chemistry major and graduating senior whose research interests focus on C-H bond activation using transition metal catalysts. In the Radlauer lab he is studying iridium-catalyzed dehydrogenation of alkanes and ways to enhance the efficiency of this process using synthetic macromolecules as scaffolds for the catalysts. His presentation was titled "Copolymerization of Styrene and Alkene-modified Pincer Ligands to Support Iridium Catalysts for Alkane Dehydrogenation."

Professor Cheruzel Wins University Award

April 2021

Prof. Lionel Cheruzel was selected as SJSU's Outstanding Professor of 2021, recognizing his excellence in teaching effectiveness and service. He is passionate about enganging a diverse group of students in his research on the development of P450 biocatalysts. In addition, he spearheaded the effort to create the Freshman Initiative: Research to Engage Students (F.I.R.E.S) program. The program, funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation, works to engage Chemistry students in research experiences early in their careers at SJSU.

Wolcott Lab Selected as AEOP Site

February 2021

Prof. Abraham Wolcott’s lab was selected as an Army Education Outreach Program (AEOP) site. Students accepted to the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (URAP) will receive a $4500 stipend for a 10 week research experience in Summer 2021. The research in the Wolcott lab will focus on the surface chemistry of fluorescent nanoscale diamond, which has applications in biolabeling, biosensing, magnetometry and quantum computation. Students will have the opportunity to perform standard laboratory techniques along with advanced techniques using air and water-free chemistry and synchrotron spectroscopy at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. The deadline to apply to the URAP program is March 15th, 2021. To apply please visit www.sjsu.edu/wolcott and click on Apply Now. 

Professor Cheruzel's Work Makes Cover

December 2020

Prof. Lionel Cheruzel's work was featured on the cover of the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry. In the issue, he reviews his work on combining Ru(II) complexes and P450 enzymes to promote catalysis.

Professor Radlauer Receives NIH Grant

May 2020

Prof. Madalyn Radlauer received an Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA R15) from the NIH for her proposal entitled "Metallopolymers as Functional Metalloprotein Mimics with Secondary Coordination Sphere Interactions." This grant will fund the Radlauer group's studies on hybrid inorganic/polymer systems (metallopolymers). Their goal is to mimic the catalytic activity, chemical selectivity and complex stability of an enzyme. A successful system will enable challenging chemical transformations relevant to human health that have yet to be accomplished with a synthetic catalyst system. 

Congrats, Graduates!

May 2020

Join us in celebrating our Spring 2020 Chemistry graduates! See the videos below for highlights of our students and a special message from faculty.

Professor Brook's Work Featured in Chemical Communications

April 2020

Prof. David Brook had his work featured on the inside cover of Chemical Communications. His research article examines a cobalt-verdazyl coordination compound that switches between two isomers with different electronic configurations when dissolved in solution. The work has potential applications for use as molecular switches.

Professor Singmaster Wins University Award

March 2020

Prof. Karen Singmaster was awarded the SJSU Distinguished Service Award, recognizing her exemplary service in a leadership capacity. She helps students succeed in the classroom and the research lab through her work as the department chair, the coordinator of General Chemistry, and as the director of the SJSU NIH RISE, SJSU NSF LSAMP and the SJSU NSF S-STEM CoSRaTS programs. Prof. Singmaster also was the recipient of the 2008 SJSU Outstanding Professor Award.

Chemistry Research Students Recognized at ABRCMS

 November 2019

Arturo Chavez and Pomaikai Yamaguchi both won awards for their poster presentations at the 2019 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students.

Arturo is a Biomedical Engineering major and NIH RISE student who conducts research in the Miller Conrad lab. He presented a poster on his work to develop new antibacterial treatment strategies by blocking virulence. Inhibition of virulence renders the pathogen more benign, allowing the immune system to clear the infection. Arturo’s project targets quorum sensing, the signaling system that controls virulence in many bacteria.

Pomaikai is a Chemical Engineering major and NIH RISE student. She presented a poster on her work in the Prof. Claire Komives lab in the Chemical Engineering Department. Currently she works in Prof. Roy Okuda’s lab working to isolate and identify new bioactive molecules from plants native to California.

ABRCMS 2019

November 2019

Twenty-one SJSU students and six faculty members attended the 2019 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students Conference in Anaheim, CA. Many students presented on their research in the department. They were joined by Chemistry Department alumni Rodger de Miranda and Kingsley Okakpu, who are pursuing PhDs at UC Irvine and UC Riverside, respectively.

Professor Wang Receives NIH Grant

June 2019

Prof. Ningkun Wang was awarded an NIH SC2 research grant to study the allosteric regulation of SIRT1. SIRT1 is an NAD⁺-dependent protein deacetylase that has been shown to play a significant role in many biological pathways including insulin secretion, tumor formation, lipid metabolism, and neurodegeneration. For this reason, SIRT1 has been identified as a potential therapeutic target, where the regulation of SIRT1 activity could combat diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. This progress has been hampered by insufficient understanding of the molecular mechanism of the regulation of SIRT1 activity. Prof. Wang’s lab aims to understand the regulatory allosteric interactions between the N-terminal domain and SIRT1’s catalytic core. Using biochemical and biophysical methods to clarify how the activity of SIRT1 is altered in various biological pathways and disease states will enable the targeted modulation of SIRT1 activity as a therapeutic method. The project will also provide insight into how other allosterically regulated enzymes function in the cell.

Professor Cheruzel Receives Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award

May 2019

Prof. Lionel Cheruzel was recognized for his commitment to excellence in research and education by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. He was one of eight researchers nationwide selected for the Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award for his work on "Light-Driven P450 Biocatalysis Featuring Ru(II)-Diimine Complexes." His active research group has included 18 publications with over 35 undergraduate coauthors.

Vanshika Gupta Recognized at CSU Student Research Competition

April 2019

Vanshika Gupta won the Undergraduate Physical Sciences and Mathematics category of the 33rd Annual CSU Student Research Competition. Vanshika is a Chemistry, concentration in Biochemistry major who researches the synthesis of single chain polymeric nanoparticles in Prof. Madalyn Radlauer’s lab. Her presentation was titled "Investigating Macromolecular Structures for the Transformation of Greenhouse Gases into Liquid Fuels." She discussed how these macromolecular structures have the potential to mimic enzymes, enabling challenging chemical reactions related to efficient and selective fuel production. 

15^th Annual COS Student Research Day and ISB Groundbreaking

April 2019

In the biggest event yet, over 100 research posters were presented at the 15^th Annual College of Science Student Research Day, which has been organized by Prof. Roy Okuda since its inception. Chemistry had a strong showing with 38 posters highlighting the diverse range of research happening in the department. The poster session followed the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Interdisciplinary Science Building. Planned to be completed at the end of 2021, the building will be the future home of the teaching and research labs in synthetic chemistry and biochemistry, in addition to those from molecular biology, microbiology and the high-performance computing center.

Chemistry Research Students Recognized by NSF

April 2019

Cassandra Villicana

Cassandra Villicana was awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to fund her PhD studies. Cassandra is a Biomedical Engineering major set to graduate from SJSU this spring. She studies a key enzyme involved in conferring antibiotic resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Prof. Laura Miller Conrad’s lab. She will pursue her doctoral studies in Engineering at Stanford University this fall.

Minh Tran

Minh Tran was recognized with an honorable mention on the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Minh Tran graduated with a BS Chemistry, Concentration in Biochemistry degree in Fall 2018. He was also recognized as the department’s recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Division of Organic Chemistry Outstanding Senior Organic Chemistry Student. Minh also worked in the Miller Conrad lab, developing and testing new compounds to treat drug-resistant strains of P. aeruginosa. He will start his doctoral studies in Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco this fall.

Dr. Esfandiari Wins University Award

March 2019

Dr. Melody Esfandiari was recognized with the 2019 University Outstanding Lecturer Award for her excellence in teaching effectiveness and service to SJSU. Dr. Esfandiari got her undergraduate degree at SJSU and returned to teach here in 2012 after obtaining her PhD from the University of California, Irvine. Since that time, she has taught over 3,500 students. She is an advisor of the Student Associates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) and runs a summer internship program for underrepresented students in science.

Professor Pesek Wins EAS Award

January 2019

Prof. Joseph Pesek was recognized with the 2019 Eastern Analytical Symposium Award for Outstanding Achievements in Separation Science.  A symposium will be held in his honor at the Eastern Analytical Symposium in November 2019.

Congrats, Graduates!

December 2018

In SJSU’s first fall commencement, the Chemistry Department celebrated 19 graduates from our undergraduate programs.

Students Win Poster Awards at ABRCMS

November 2018

David Navarro and Jocelyn Valenzuela were both recognized for their poster presentations at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Indianapolis, Indiana last November. Both are undergraduates doing research in the Chemistry Department.

David Navarro

David Navarro is a Chemistry major and an NIH RISE student working with Prof. Madalyn Radlauer. David’s project aims to enhance the efficiency of fuel production by converting methane, a byproduct of the oil industry, to methanol, a liquid fuel. Taking inspiration from methane monooxygenases, bacterial enzymes that can promote this transformation, David is working to construct synthetic diiron and tri-copper complexes embedded in a polymer scaffold to promote the same transformation on scale.

Jocelyn Valenzuela

Jocelyn Valenzuela is a Chemical Engineering major and an NIH MARC student working with Prof. Abraham Wolcott. Jocelyn is investigating functionalized nanoscale diamonds that have applications in biosensing, voltage sensing and quantum communication. After adding an amine functional group to the surface of the diamonds, she characterized the modification with X-ray absorption and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory with Dr. Dennis Nordlund and colleagues.

Students Present at ABRCMS

November 2018

Over 30 SJSU undergraduate students from the NIH RISE, NIH MARC, NSF S-STEM and NSF LSAMP programs attended the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Indianapolis, Indiana last November. Many presented on their research in the College of Science. The group was led by Professors Singmaster, Ouverney, Rascón and Wilkinson.

No Belles Performance at SJSU

October 17, 2018

The chemistry club, with the help of the American Chemical Society of Silicon Valley chapter, is bringing a performance of "No Belles" by the Portal Theatre group to SJSU on October 17th. The production raises awareness about gender bias in the sciences, highlighting that of the 581 individuals that have been awarded the Nobel Prize in the sciences, only 18 have been women. The free event will be at 7:30 pm on October 17 in Morris Dailey Auditorium followed by a reception. Register for the free tickets here.

Profs. Pesek and Matyska-Pesek Receive College Award

Fall 2018

Profs. Joseph Pesek and Maria Matyska-Pesek were recognized this fall with the College of Science Award for Research with Students. Both have dedicated much time over their careers at SJSU to mentoring students in research, leading to a large number of publications. They received their awards at the fall College of Science Welcome Event.

Congrats, Graduates!

Spring 2018

The Chemistry Department congratulates our 86 graduates from Summer 2017-Spring 2018. Our graduating class includes 8 students with a Master's of Science in Chemistry, 23 students with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry, 9 students with an ACS-certified Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, and 46 students with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a Concentration in Biochemistry.

Prof. Radlauer Awarded CSUPERB Grant

Spring 2018

Prof. Madalyn Radlauer was awarded a CSUPERB New Investigator Grant in Spring 2018. The funded project is inspired by the question: Can we mimic the macromolecular environment of an enzyme with an organic polymer to achieve effective catalysis? Enzymes, biological catalysts that accelerate reactions, promote numerous impressive reactions in nature. For example, transformations like selective methane oxidation have the technological potential to revolutionize our fuel economy. Thus, Prof. Radlauer turned to nature for inspiration, aiming to mimic the chemical transformations made possible by enzymes. Enzymes generally include an active site – where the reaction occurs – embedded in a larger structure, which provides stabilizing forces to promote the desired reaction. To access enzyme-like activity, the lab hypothesizes that these stabilizing interactions must also be mimicked. This task is nontrivial and remains a significant challenge. The proposed work aims to address the challenge of reproducing secondary interactions by embedding a small molecule “active site” within a larger synthetic scaffold to mimic bacterial enzymes that convert greenhouse gases into useful fuels. In addition to a deeper understanding of enzymes and their structures, success with this type of synthetic system might allow technological leaps for the fuel economy since we would be better able to transform greenhouse gases into viable fuels or industry-relevant chemicals.

Prof. Okuda Wins University Award

Spring 2018

Prof. Roy Okuda was recognized with the 2017-2018 Distinguished Service Award. The award is for "exemplary service in a leadership capacity to the university and/or community or profession that brings credit to San Jose State." Prof. Okuda has organized the College of Science Research Day for the past 13 years. He was recognized for this work and for his efforts to create scientific opportunities for students in general. The 14th annual COS Research Day event will be on Friday, April 27, 2018 in the Duncan Hall breezeway. 

Professor Joseph Pesek Recieves National Award

Spring 2018

After being recognized for research excellence in the CSU last year, Prof. Joseph Pesek has also been honored with the 2018 ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution. This prestigious award is sponsored by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and recognizes outstanding research at a primarily undergraduate institution. The work must have received wide recognition and had a large impact on the professional development of undergraduate students. In his research studies to develop new separation methods, Prof. Pesek has published over 230 scientific articles, while working with over 100 undergraduate students. Prof. Pesek accepted the award and presented his work at the 255^th American Chemical Society National Meeting in New Orleans, LA. Many faculty from SJSU were able to attend the ceremony.

Students Present at ABRCMS

Fall 2017

Undergraduate students from MARC, RISE, LSAMP, McNair, S-STEM and CoSRaTS represented SJSU at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Phoenix, AZ. The group of 25 was led by 4 faculty members, including Prof. Karen Singmaster and Prof. Alberto Rascón. A total of 2 oral presentations and 16 poster presentations were given by the students.

Professor Bradley Stone Wins Jazz Award

Fall 2017

Prof. Bradley Stone has been recognized with the 2017 Bobby Jackson Award for Jazz Programmer of the Year (Internet and Non-Terrestrial Radio). The award recognized Prof. Stone’s programming and production of “The Creative Source” on SoulandJazz.com radio. The program champions radio airplay and greater exposure for new and current “living” artists and jazz composers. He has been the recipient of numerous awards for his work in jazz programming, including the prestigious “Duke DuBois Humanitarian Award” by JazzWeek in 2008, a national award for lifetime achievement and service to the jazz and jazz radio communities. Prof. Stone’s work at KSJS-FM at SJSU led to that station’s inclusion on the original panels for both the Gavin and JazzWeek national Top 50 jazz charts, as well as KSJS being selected as a 2-time winner (7-time nominee) of the JazzWeek “Jazz Station of the Year – Medium Markets” award.

Professor Madalyn Radlauer Joins Chemistry Department

Fall 2017

Prof. Madalyn Radlauer will be teaching courses in inorganic, polymer and general chemistry. As both an organometallic and a polymer chemist, she is looking forward to combining these two areas in her lab, studying small molecule catalysts in macromolecular environments. Like traditional organometallic chemists, students in her lab will synthesize catalysts to lower the activation barrier for challenging reactions relevant to the fuel economy, but these catalysts will then be appended to polymers. Thus, the small molecule catalysts will work as active sites within a larger scaffold, similar to a protein or enzyme. The polymers’ ability to alter catalytic activity will be explored, where we expect that this biomimetic approach will have significant effects.

Professor Ningkun Wang Joins Chemistry Department

Fall 2017

Prof. Ningkun Wang will be teaching courses in biochemistry. With a background in protein interactions, Prof. Wang’s research combines biochemistry and biophysical methods to study indirect allosteric effects on the activity and substrate specificity of enzymes. The general goal of the lab is to study the “supporting actors” in biology that play a major role in the story and to learn how they go about doing that.

Specifically, the lab is interested in studying SIRT1, an enzyme that affects gene expression by de-acetylating transcription factors and histones.  SIRT1 has a large, unstructured N-terminus domain that is not directly involved in enzyme catalysis, but regulates the catalytic activity and substrate specificity. The lab will seek to elucidate the mechanism of this allosteric effect by studying the interactions between the N-terminus domain and the enzyme catalytic core.

Congrats, Graduates!

May 27, 2017

The chemistry department congratulates its 75 graduates from the 2016-2017 year! Among our undergraduates, we had 8 students graduate with a B.A., 10 with a B.S., and 47 with a B.S. with a concentration in Biochemistry. We also had 10 graduate students receive their master’s degree.

Student Research Showcased at SJSU

May 5-6, 2017

The 13th College of Science Research Day on May 5^th featured 73 posters representing all departments in the college, including 28 posters from the Chemistry department. Prof. Roy Okuda organized the event. On May 6^th, SJSU hosted the 29^th Annual American Chemical Society Northern California Undergraduate Research Symposium (NCURS). Students from 14 institutions gave oral and poster presentations. The event was supported by the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) at SJSU, the ACS Santa Clara Valley Section and the College of Science and organized by Prof. Lionel Cheruzel, Dr. Melody Esfandiari, and Prof. Laura Miller Conrad. SAACS volunteers at the NCURS registration table are pictured.

Professor Joseph Pesek Receives CSUPERB Faculty Research Award

Jan. 7, 2017

Prof. Joseph Pesek was honored with the Faculty Research Award, which recognizes a California State University (CSU) faculty member for their outstanding work in a biotechnology-related research program. The award includes a $1000 grant and the opportunity to speak during a luncheon at the Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium, held this year at the Santa Clara Marriott. In his introduction of Prof. Pesek, Prof. Eskandari (Cal Poly Pomona) stated that “Dr. Pesek is being recognized not only for his outstanding research productivity and his dedication to students, but also his persistence in building on theoretical studies to commercialize high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) products.”… [he has] “demonstrated on numerous occasions an intellectual generosity, a willingness to share ideas and an unwavering commitment to scientific rigor that builds excellence in research collaborations at both a national and international level.” Over his career he has worked with over 100 undergraduate researchers, served as the primary research advisor for exactly 100 Master’s students, and hosted over 50 visiting scientists and postdoctoral fellows from all over the world. His group has published over 230 peer-reviewed papers and garnered $6.95 million in research grants. In the above photo are Prof. Daryl Eggers, Prof. Sep Eskandari (Cal Poly Pomona, Chair of Selection Committee and former award winner), Prof. Joseph Pesek, and Dr. Pamela Stacks (SJSU AVP for Research).

Professor Chester Simocko Joins Chemistry Department

Fall 2016

The chemistry department welcomes Prof. Chester Simocko to the department, where he will be teaching courses in organic and polymer chemistry. Prof. Simocko's research bridges the gap between organic chemistry and polymer science. He studies structure-property relationships in polymer systems by considering a desired property (mechanic strength, melting temperature, ion conduction, etc.) and determining how polymer structure affects that property. The lab controls polymer structure by growing a polymer from a surface to create polymer brushes and by making precise polymers and block copolymers for tailored self-assembly via alternating diene metathesis polymerization. Some of the students working on this effort in the Simocko lab are shown above: From left to right: Paul Abarquez, Sandy Rosa, Alexis Sarabia, Andrew Pham, Melvina Lu, Natsu Okuda, Bryan Chin (front), Josh Chen (back), Hamdy Yahya.

Students Present at ABRCMS

November 15, 2016

Students in the MARC, RISE, LSAMP and CoSRaTS programs presented their biomedical research at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students held in Tampa, Florida in November 2016.

Congratulations, Graduates!

May 27, 2016

The chemistry department congratulates our 65 graduates in the 2015-2016 year! In addition to 7 master’s students, we had 9 students graduate with a B.A., 9 with a B.S., and 40 with a B.S. with an emphasis in biochemistry.

Professor Miller Conrad Awarded an NIH Grant to Investigate Resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

April 4, 2016

Prof. Laura Miller Conrad was awarded an NIH SC3 Grant to investigate and block antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bacterium is the leading gram-negative cause of secondary infections in hospitals. Few treatments successfully clear the infection and resistant strains are increasingly encountered. One class of last-resort drugs currently used are cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAPs) like colistin and polymyxin B. Alarmingly, CAP-resistant strains have also been encountered, threatening the efficacy of these life-saving treatments.

The positively-charged CAPs enter the bacterial cell by electrostatic attraction to the negatively-charged outer membrane of P. aeruginosa, followed by disruption of the membrane. Once inside, the drug binds intracellular targets, killing the bacterium. In resistant strains, P. aeruginosa modifies its outer membrane to become less negatively charged, preventing uptake of the antibiotic. With the grant, the Miller Conrad lab will aim to inhibit a biosynthetic enzyme in the modification pathway, forcing the bacterium to maintain a negatively-charged outer membrane and to remain susceptible to CAP treatment. A successful inhibitor could be used in a combination therapy with the CAP antibiotic. Ken Choi and Sarah Matthews shown above are among the students working on the project.

Professor Rascón, Jr. Awarded an NIH Grant to Study Aedes aegypti Midgut Proteases

February 1, 2016

Prof. Alberto A. Rascón, Jr. was awarded an SC3 research grant from the NIH. The project will investigate the role midgut proteases play during the blood meal digestion process in the virus-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito. The mosquito specifically feeds on humans to obtain the nutrients needed for the egg laying process, and it is this blood-feeding behavior that facilitates the spread of blood-borne pathogens including Yellow fever, Dengue fever, Chikungunya, and the Zika virus, which has recently emerged in the Americas. At the moment, the only way to minimize pathogen transmission is through mosquito (vector) control. Current strategies include the use of insecticides, which have proven effective in reducing the mosquito population and slowing down pathogen transmission. However, there has been an increase in Ae. aegypti mosquito resistance to available insecticides and with increasing world population, global warming, urbanization, and the lack of other effective mosquito control strategies, the mosquito population will continue to grow. As a result, we will likely experience higher incidences of Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika infections. The strategy being investigated in the Prof. Rascón, Jr. lab is to target the proteolytic enzymes involved in the blood meal protein digestion process, which should have a negative affect on egg development, reduce the mosquito population, and hence reduce pathogen transmission.

Students and Faculty Attend ABRCMS

December 1, 2015

A group of SJSU students and faculty attended the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Seattle on November 11-14, 2015.  At this conference students can present scientific research they have performed with faculty.  The students are participants in the MARC, RISE, LSAMP and CoSRaTS programs housed in the College of Science.  Five students received awards for their presentations. MARC students Jessica Ballin (Psychology) and Rebecca Sandoval (Psychology) presented research performed during the summer at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign and University of Michigan, respectively.  Awardees from the RISE program presented work done with faculty at SJSU.  These students are  Fauna Yarza (Biological Sciences, Professor Elizabeth Skovran), Elvia Silva (Biological Sciences, Professor Tzvia Abramson) and Adrian Riives (Chemistry, Prof. Gilles Muller).

Chemistry Department Receives Equipment Donations

December 1, 2015

Two mass spectrometers were donated to the department this fall, giving students experience with state of the art equipment. The Prof. Joseph Pesek's research group received a Perkin-Elmer liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) instrument donation for use by CHEM 55L students. A new gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) instrument was donated by the Santa Clara Valley Water District and will be used in Prof. Roger Terrill’s CHEM 155 class. This is the second donation from SCVWD - the first was an inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer system (ICP-OES).

Professor Kelly Receives NSF Grant to Develop a Visualization Framework for Chemical Reactions

October 1, 2015

Prof. Resa Kelly was awarded a $265,924 grant from the National Science Foundation – Division of Undergraduate Education - IUSE Program to design effective strategies to develop and present molecular visualizations that support student learning in General Chemistry. The framework will present students with a video of experimental evidence followed by animations in variance to each other. The student will be charged with critiquing the animations in connection to the experimental evidence to decide how the animations are similar to or different from the evidence and each other. Ultimately, they will be asked to reflect on the accuracy of each animation. The understanding and insights revealed through this endeavor, regarding how visualizations can enhance student success, will be of significant value to educators across a wide range of scientific disciplines, from biology, to earth sciences, to physics and more.

Professor Muller Leads Research Seminars in Japan

October 1, 2015

Prof. Gilles Muller was invited by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to visit several Japanese universities (Osaka City University, Osaka University, Toyama University, Tsukuba University, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Kinki University and Kwansei Gakuin University) in June 2015 to participate in educational and scientific discussions and to lead lectures and research seminars. Internationally recognized for his work in promoting excellence in research and for successful mentoring of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, Prof. Muller is one of the few researchers in the world studying circularly polarized luminescence. During his month-long visit, Prof. Muller also shared the mission of his research group which is to facilitate and increase undergraduate research as a teaching and mentoring tool at SJSU.

Professor Pesek and Dr. Matyska-Pesek Receive Grants from Brazilian Government

September 20, 2015

Prof. Joseph Pesek received a grant from the Brazilian government agency (CNPg) associated with Ministry of Science and Technology and Dr. Maria Matyska-Pesek received a grant from Brazilian government agency (CAPES) linked to Ministry of Education.  Grants are devoted to development of new separation methods for analysis of different food products, impurities in food, main components and monitoring the changes in food after food processing.  Both researchers spent two weeks in Brazil at the Federal University in Pelotas this summer. 

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