I reconciled a stereochemistry question that has remained in the guanine-oxidation community for 7 years. To achieve this feat, I learned and implemented DFT and TDDFT calculations using Gaussian software to model ECD and VCD spectra for the two diastereomers of spiroiminodihydantoin. This work was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.I have continued my computational work for determination of absolute configurations for other enantiomers and diastereomers, as well as modeling preferred conformations of lesion-bearing nucleosides.I developed methodology for site-specifically incorporating lesions in the G-quadruplex folds found in the human telomere, VEGF and c-MYC promoter sequences.Teaching-I mentored undergraduate and graduate students on laboratory technique, safety, and helped troubleshoot experiments. I helped them prepare presentations and manuscripts for publication.Collaboration-I have initiated two new collaborations to better understand DNA damage in a cell. My continued efforts in collaborating with the Dr. Henry White's laboratory have further progressed, which is anticipated to yield many exciting discoveries. Laboratory Safety-My role as laboratory safety officer has led me to write a laboratory-safety manual and a list of protocols for using the instruments and conducting routine reactions in our laboratory.Invited Talk-I presented work at the Albany 2013: The 18th Conversation conference.Grant Writing-I have become an active participant in preparing grants that were submitted to the National Institute of Health.

See Postdoctoral Research Fellow job description.

I extended my graduate research to elucidating oxidative-DNA damage sites and products in telomeric double-stranded and G-quadruplex DNA. The publication of these results was featured on the cover of Chemical Research in Toxicology's April 2013 edition. Furthermore, these results provided the background for a collaboration with Dr. Susan Wallace's lab (University of Vermont) to determine enzymatic repair of the damage in the various secondary structures that the human telomere sequence adopts. This work was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. I characterized and quantified the guanine-oxidation product 2-iminohydantoin resulting from copper-Fenton chemistry. This observation provided compelling data for the existence of this compound in the cell. The publication of these results was selected by the reviewers for "Hot Article" status in Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry because of its anticipated impact on my field of study.I launched research aimed at quantifying populations of G-quadruplex folds using the single molecule sensing capabilities of the alpha-hemolysin ion channel. This work was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.Collaborations-I initiated many new collaborations during my postdoctoral research studies. I developed methodology to synthesize and characterized site-specific modifications to long oligonucleotides (>60 mers) utilizing many different synthetic methods: Oxidative addition, reductive amination, click chemistry, nucleophilic aromatic substitution, oxime formation, and disulfide exchange reactions.Teaching-I mentored >10 graduate and undergraduate students during my postdoctoral studies. I taught research technique, safety, and helped troubleshoot experiments.Laboratory Safety-I took over the role of laboratory safety officer. In this role, I brought our laboratory up to date on new safety laws and regulations.

Research with Dr. Cynthia Burrows-I developed strong-analytical skills in chromatography, mass spectrometry, and NMR while studying products that result from oxidation of the DNA base guanine. My studies were geared toward modeling chemistry that would occur in a cell during a state of oxidative stress or inflammation. My work is featured in 3 peer-reviewed publications.Teaching-I trained and supervised three undergraduate students during my graduate education; each of their work was featured in peer-reviewed publications. I taught general chemistry discussions to undergraduates for 2 years. During my last semester as a teacher I was given a student-selected award for my teaching efforts. Collaborations-I was an active participant in two different research teams. This work lead to 2 peer-reviewed publications. Methods I developed were part of a submitted patent that was later licensed by a local biotechnology company.Publications and Presentations-The work I conducted and oversaw as a graduate student can be found in 5 peer-reviewed publications in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Journal of Organic Chemistry and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I presented posters at local and international conferences.

I provide nucleic acid chemistry support for EBS' efforts in the development of DNA and RNA sequencing platforms. Specifically this includes assisting in writing successful federally-funded grants, aiding in experimental design, and providing insight for patent applications.