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Dr. Kimberly Musa Specht
| Affiliation: | Faculty |
| Title: | Assistant Professor |
| Office: | 204B Ebaugh Lab. |
| Email: |
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| Phone: |
740-587-5695
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B.S. from University of Notre Dame, 1995
M.S. from Princeton University, 1997
Ph.D. from Princeton University, 2002
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View the Specht Group's Research Page
Field of Interest:
My research interests are interdisciplinary in nature,
spanning the traditional boundaries of synthetic organic chemistry,
biochemistry and molecular biology. I am
interested in the chemistry of biological surfaces, particularly those that
contain sugars, and the role of the sugars at these surfaces.One project in my group looks to develop a
model system for glycosylated surfaces. While cell surfaces are covered in carbohydrates, many of the details
concerning interactions with carbohydrates are yet to be uncovered. In particular, we seek to develop a model
system that contains sugars fixed in space and orientation to an extended sheet
surface that will allow for the probing of sugar-sugar and sugar-conjugate interactions
at defined spacings. My larger interest
in surfaces containing sugars led me to an interest in bacterial cell
walls. These cell walls contain a system
of cross-linked sugars and peptides called peptidoglycan whose synthesis is the
target of many commonly used antibiotics. A second on-going project studies the proteins that synthesize this
peptidoglycan, called penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), from the bacterial
species Burkholderia cenocepacia. This bacterium is an opportunistic pathogen
that is of clinical relevance to Cystic Fibrosis patients. It is of particular interest because it is
largely resistant to antibiotics, and utilizes many resistance mechanisms. In my lab, we have identified, cloned, expressed,
and isolated several PBPs from this bacterium. We have begun studies to characterize these proteins.
I have a
strong interest in working with undergraduate students and many students who
have worked in my lab have presented their work at national conferences.
I am also interested in the research
regarding the best pedagogies for teaching chemistry. This has translated into lab development and
classroom strategies that explore techniques current in the literature.
Teaching
Chem 121 - General Chemistry I plus Laboratory
Chem 223 - Organic Chemistry I plus Laboratory
Chem 224 - Organic Chemistry II plus Laboratory
Chem 228 - Organic Chemistry Majors Lab
Chem/Bio 302 - Biochemistry plus Laboratory
Chem 470 - Senior Seminar
Chem 402 - Advanced Organic Chemistry
FYS 102 - First Year Seminar "Science in the Media"
Publications
Specht, K.M.; *Sheetz, K.; *Alexander, C.A.; *Lamech, L.T.; *O'Connor, L.H.; *Walker, D.M.; and *Stevenson, H.P. Expression and Characterization of Penicillin-Binding Proteins in Burkholderia cenocepacia. in submission, Current Microbiology (MS# CMB-09-08-0635).
Specht, K.M.; Jackson, M.; *Sunkel, B.; Boucher, M.A. Synthesis of a functionalized sheet silicate derived from apophylite and further modification by hydrosilylation. in submission, Applied Clay Science (MS#CLAY2482).
Boucher, M.A.; Specht, K.M. 2009. A Forensic-Themed Case Study for the Organic Lab
. Journal of Chemical Education. v. 86 no. 7 p. 847-848
Fan, Q.-W.; Specht, K.M.; Zhang, C.; Goldenberg, D.D.; Shokat, K.M.; and Weiss, W.A. 2003. Combinatorial Efficacy Achieved Through Two-Point Blockade within a Signaling Pathway - A Chemical Genetic Approach. Cancer Research. v. 63 p. 8930-8938
Specht, K.M. and Shokat, K.M. 2002. The Emerging Power of Chemical Genetics. Current Opinion in Cell Biology. v. 14 p. 155-159
Specht, K.M.; Nam, J.; Ho, D.M.; Berova, N.; Kondru, R.K.; Beratan, D.N.; Wipf, P.; Pascal Jr., R.A. and Kahne, D.. 2001. Determining Absolute Configuration in Flexible Molecules: A Case Study. Journal of the American Chemical Society. v. 123 no. 37 p. 8961-8966
Specht, K.M.; Harris, C.R.; Molander, G.A.; and Kahne, D. 1999. SmI2 Cleavage of Chromomycin A3 Sugars. Tetrahedron Letters. v. 121 p. 1237-1238
Domagala, J.M.; Gogliotti, R.; Sanchez, J.P.; Stier, M.A,; Musa, K.; Song, Y.; Loo, J.; Reily, M.; Tummino, P.; Harvey, P.; Hupe, D.; Sharmeen, L.; Mack, D.; Scholten, J.; Saunders, J.; and McQuade, T. 1997. 2,2'-Dithiobisbenzamides and 2-Benzisothiazolones, Two New Classes of Antiretroviral Agents: SAR and Mechanistic Considerations. Drug Design and Discovery. v. 15 p. 49-61
Toledo, L.M.; Musa, K.; Lauher, J.W.; Fowler, F.W. 1995. Development of Strategies for the Preparation of Designed Solids - An Investigation of the 2-Amino-4(1H)-pyrimidone Ring-System for the Molecular Self-Assembly of Hydrogen-Bonded Alpha-Networks. Chemistry of Materials. v. 7 p. 1639-1647
Presentations
Boucher, M.A.; Specht, K.M. July 2008. Was it murder? Introducing FT-IR through a case study from organic chemistry. 20th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education. Bloomington, IN
Specht, K.M. April 2008. Exploring Antibiotic Resistance: Identification and Expression of Penicillin-Binding Proteins from Burkholderia cenocepacia. Invited seminar speaker at Colby College. Waterville, ME
Boucher, M.A.; Specht, K.M. 2007. Was it murder? A case study for an organic laboratory. Poster Presentation at the American Chemical Society 234th National Meeting. Boston, MA
Specht, K.M. April 2007. Adventures in Chemical Biology: Cloning and Expression of Penicillin-Binding Proteins. Invited seminar speaker at Utica College. Utica, NY
Student Presentations
*Alexander, C.M.; *Lamech, L.T.; Specht, K.
August 2007. Cloning and overexpression of an E. coli PBP1a homolog
from Burkholderia cenocepacia into E. coli. Poster Presentation at the
American Chemical Society 234th National Meeting. Boston, MA
*O'Connor, L.H.; *Lamech, L.T.; Specht, K. August 2007. Cloning and overexpression of a putative penicillin-binding
protein from Burkholderia cenocepacia in E. coli. Poster Presentation
at the American Chemical Society 234th National Meeting. Boston, MA
*Stevenson, H.; *Hickey, D.; Specht, K. September 2006. Bocillin™ PBP Labeling and Detection Studies. Poster Presentation at
the American Chemical Society 232nd National Meeting. San Francisco, CA
*Cobb, K.B.; Specht, K.M. April 2006. In vivo
Monitoring of PBP1b in E. coli. Poster Presentation at the American
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Annual Meeting and
Centennial Celebration. San Francisco, CA
*Stevenson, H.; Specht, K. November 2005.
Plasmid design for the fusion of PBP1a with the fluorescent protein
GFP. Poster Presentation at the Columbus Section American Chemical
Society Meeting. Columbus , OH
*indicates Denison University undergraduate student co-authors
