Research by Current Students

The department offers a diversity of student research opportunities, including physical chemistry, biophysical chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry, organometallic chemistry, synthetic organic/materials chemistry, biophysical organic chemistry, chemical biology and biochemistry.  Students may begin faculty-mentored independent research as early as their first or second year.  Students have the opportunity to do research both in the academic year and during an intensive ten week summer research experience.  In addition students have the opportunity to attend and present a poster at local and/or national meetings or co-publish a paper with a faculty mentor. 

Christopher Bennett – NMR Spin-Lattice Relaxation Studies of Leucine-Enkephalin in a Phospholipid Bilayer Membrane Environment
Louise Carroll – Preparation and Reactions of 2-Chlorocalix[4]arene
Trevor Carroll – Exocyclic Alkene Calixarenes
Brooke Esarey – Component Synthesis and an Entrepreneurial Potential of Alternative Solar Cells
Katie Esselburn – Olfactory and Auditory Cues Calling Behavior of Xenopus laevis
Daniel Fosselman – Examining the Relationship between p53 and p21 in Human Bladder Cells
Marcus Geer –  data collection for the Ovarian Cancer Screening project @ University of Kentucky
Chuan-Xing Ho – Fyn Targets Non-Phosphoinositide Binding Merlin Mutant to Membrane Rafts
Marisa Horton – Purification of GacA Protein from Burkholderia cenocpacia K56-2
Catherine Jakubowski – Electrospray Printing of Enzyme Microarrays
Stephanie LaCount – Three Dimensional Modeling of the Beta-Subunit of Pelargonium X hortorum RNA Polymerase
Mitchell Legg – Production of Electron Rich Molecules for Use in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
Katie Leight – The study of Aromatic Molecules that attach to the surface of TiO2
Matthew Lipner – Chemical Properties of High Mass Star-Forming Regions
Patrick McNamara – Transcriptional Profiles of PEP and NEP in pelargonium x hortorum
Colin Murphy – Molecular Dynamics of Leu-Enkephalin
Alexandra Murray – Synthesis of electron deficient aromatics for the incorporation into low cost, efficiency solar cells
Charles Murray – Methylene-Bridge Linked Calixarenes for Chromatographic Separations
Marissa Pfoff – Chronic Restraint Stress in Male and Female Rats: Spontaneous Recovery compared with No Extinction Controls
David Porter – Role of methionine in neuroprotection against oxidative stress in stroke and neurodegenerative diseases
Krista Reiger – Plant cuticular composition: A comparative study of two species
Kevin Rodda – The Analysis of Penicillin-Binding Proteins Isolated from Burkholderia cenocepacia
Ben Sunkel – Preparation of a novel system for the study of cell surface carbohydrate interactions with receptor proteins
Ashley Thomas –  2-(w-Azido) and 2-(w-Alkynyl) Functionalized Tether Calix[4]arenes
Beth Underwood – Electrospray Printing of Peptide Microarrays
Devon Widmer – Attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy studies of water uptake by waxy thin films that mimic the plant cuticle
Linus Williams – Multicalixarenes as potential DNA transfection agents