Mentors and Projects

My lab uses the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, to examine basic biological processes and to model human diseases.  Currently, the lab is focused on two projects: developing a worm model for Parkinson’s Disease and studying the roles of neurexin and neuroligin in worm behavior. For the Parkinson’s Disease project, we are using worms expressing Green Fluorescent Protein in the 8 dopaminergic neurons to monitor the degradation of these neurons by the expression of mutant human Parkinson’s genes a-synuclein and LRRK2. For the neurexin/neuroligin project we are creating knockout worms for these genes using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Additional projects under consideration include an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) model in C. elegans and directed evolution projects examining drug resistant human topoisomerase 2 or plastic degrading enzymes.

Benslama Lab Website

The newly established Drew Particle Physics Group (DPPG) is a member of the Mu2e collaboration at Fermilab, America’s Premier Particle Physics and Accelerator Laboratory situated outside of Chicago.

The goal of the Mu2e experiment is to find evidence that a muon—a fundamental subatomic particle and one of the most basic building blocks of the universe—can change into an electron and nothing else.

Observing muon-to-electron conversion would be a major discovery and would signal the existence of new particles or new forces of nature. It could also point physicists toward a single theory explaining the genetics of the particles born in the Big Bang. Discovering this is central to understanding what physics lies beyond the Standard Model.

Students joining DPPG will have access to elite research facilities and technology and be part of a potentially revolutionary project.

More information about Fermilab can be found here and more information about the Mu2e Experiment can be found here.

Chemical reactions that take over 100,000 years in aqueous solution at physiological pH and temperature can occur in less than a second in an enzyme active site.  My research explores two examples of these amazing catalysts.  In one case, we study the catalytic power of enzymes involved in phosphoryl transfer, one of the most important chemical reactions in biology,   by studying the mechanisms of the chemical reaction catalyzed in aqueous solution.  We are now also studying the properties of aldo-keto reductases, a family of enzymes of interest for both medical and industrial purposes.  Here, we are examining the phenomenon of substrate inhibition, where the enzyme is inhibited by the reactant of the reaction it is supposed to catalyze!  For both systems, results from the laboratory are augmented with computer modeling to provide a better representation of how the enzymes work.

In the Choquette lab we are working to develop new organic reactions using samarium diiodide (SmI2). This reagent is a single-electron reductant, facilitating radical and nucleophilic coupling reactions.  SmI2 is air-sensitive, meaning that all reactions need to be carried out under an inert atmosphere, like Argon. This provides a unique opportunity for the undergraduate researcher to gain expertise with specialized equipment and protocols for the air-sensitive reactions.

We are developing a protocol to use SmI2 using air-free glassware called a Schlenk line.  We also have a new glovebox in the lab, the standard equipment to carry out air-sensitive reactions.  With the glovebox we are developing new reactions that use SmI2 and catalytic amount of Ni salts to form difficult to obtain tertiary alcohols and vinyl alcohols.

Aviation accident analysis with a focus on General Aviation and/or helicopters using public data such as those found on the NTSB and the FAA online databases. Students who took the course BST333/PSYC333 on Aviation Psychology & Management are particularly encouraged to participate but this course is not a requirement.

Dr. Dunaway’s research laboratory has merged with Dr. Barker’s research laboratory to examine DNA sensing, particularly with regard to damaged DNA. Please see Dr. Barker’s description.

Research in the Fazen lab focuses on understanding the phenomenon of bacterial persistence. Within a population, persister cells are a rare phenotype exhibiting non-heritable tolerance (and survival) to lethal doses of antibiotics that would otherwise kill the rest of the genetically identical population. While persisters are capable of surviving antibiotic treatment, they can neither grow in the presence of antibiotics nor confer this tolerance to their offspring, distinguishing these types of cells from antibiotic-resistant mutants. However, because persisters can survive antibiotic treatment (and regrow following removal of the antibiotic), their presence may play significant roles in the reoccurrence of chronic infections and the development of antibiotic resistance. In the lab, we utilize tools from chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and microbiology to understand bacterial persistence and to develop new compounds and strategies to combat it.

Prediction and experimental determination of the structure and reactivity of molecules compose the core research interests of this laboratory. Prediction is achieved through the use of the appropriate equations of motion and related physical laws without the use of adjustable parameters where possible. Bond lengths and bond angles in molecules are calculated using the precepts of quantum chemistry. Rate constants and activation energies are calculated using unimolecular reaction rate theory and molecular dynamics. Tools to measure molecular structure include rotational-vibrational infrared spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. Measurement of chemical reactivity involve plans to acquire a flash photolysis capability. Current interests focus on determination of what molecular or lattice structure is required to generate fluorescence or phosphorescence at a desired wavelength. General application areas include reduction of pollutants generated by combustion and materials used for anti-counterfeiting and authentication technologies.

Dr. Gaffar is a researcher in the fields of soil science and environmental science. She has a particular interest in biochar and its effects on various aspects of soil health and plant growth. Biochar is a type of charcoal that is made from organic materials and can be used to improve soil quality, sequester carbon, and mitigate the effects of climate change. Dr. Gaffar’s research focuses on the effects of biochar on soil characteristics, microbial populations, carbon sequestration, and pesticide retention. She also studies the combined effects of biochar with other amendments, such as rhizobium and mycorrhizal fungi, on plant growth and soil nutrient levels. Dr. Gaffar’s research aims to better understand the potential benefits of biochar in agriculture and environmental management, and to identify ways to optimize its use for maximum impact.

With increasing microbial resistance to current antibiotics, commonly referred to as the “antibiotic crisis”, there is an urgent need for new antibiotics to control resistant bacterial strains. My lab is working on two antibacterial projects. Kibdelomycin is an interesting antibacterial compound discovered at Merck from a microorganism. Dr. Perkins’ lab is fermenting the organism to produce kibdelomycin. My lab is purifying kibdelomycin and synthetically modifying the chemical structure to increase the antibacterial spectrum against gram-negative organisms. Another project in my lab is optimizing the antibacterial activity of compounds discovered from a synthetic chemical library here at Drew. This project requires a five step synthetic route to produce new analogs of the isoindole core structure.

The atmospheric chemistry research group investigates chemical reactions at solid-air interfaces that are relevant to atmospheric processes including climate change and air quality. Airborne particles — such as sea spray, smoke, and mineral dust — play an important role in controlling Earth’s climate. We investigate how the climate-important properties of these particles are altered by reactions with trace gases such as volatile organic compounds, ozone and nitrogen dioxide. We also investigate interfacial chemistry that can occur in indoor environments to better understand the implications for air quality in the built environment.

The three pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) are extracellular senile plaques, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, and a profound loss of neurons and functional neuronal connections.  Recent evidence suggests that there is a connection between these pathologic events.  However, the biochemical pathways that link the extracellular deposits and the intracellular dystrophies are unclear.  In our laboratory, students choose research projects that focus on trying to elucidate these pathways.  Examples of projects include: identification of receptor mediated second messenger activation that can lead to AD-like morphological changes in neurites; quantification of a dose-dependent and time-dependent effects of extracellular stimulation with various molecules secreted by microglia; and exploration of changes in microtubule stability due to second messenger stimulation.

[email protected]

Research Interests: Biochemical assay and drug development.  Anti-inflammatory biology of cannabinoids. Novel biologic targeting sickle cell disease and oxidative stress.  Novel cancer therapeutics from natural product sources and utilizing targeted protein degradation.

Lunn Lab Overview:  Drug discovery requires the development of relevant biochemical assay systems that model disease and can rapidly prioritize potential drug candidates.  My lab will establish biochemical assays necessary to evaluate drug candidates produced by chemist colleagues in RISE.  These cell-based systems will be used to validate specific chemical compounds for biological efficacy.  Previous work at RISE sought to characterize the effect of cannabinoid compounds on control of cell migration in inflammatory disease and cancer metastasis.  We will now seek to show that test compounds designed to use the cell’s proteosome to control or eliminate a breast cancer cell’s use of estrogen to potentiate growth.  The lab will also support colleagues seeking to develop novel antibiotic compounds where requested.  We finally hope to identify and characterize antioxidant compounds from natural product sources, specifically from spent yeast after beer fermentations. This work will address compounds and proteins with antiproliferative properties of spent brewer’s yeast peptide extracts.  We will purify specific factors involved in these activities using traditional biochemical techniques.

I am interested in functional data analysis.  There are many applications and examples of functional data, such as growth trajectories (human heights measured over many years), parametric curves and shapes, handwritten signatures, runner’s pace during a race, biomechanical measurements during a specific activity, etc.  I am also interested in Bayesian statistics, which is a class of increasingly popular and powerful methods that allow the incorporation of existing information as “priors” in the model.  In addition, I’m interested in designing efficient algorithms and simulations to perform statistical inference.

I am an organic chemist who has 35 years of experience using organic chemistry to design and synthesize new molecules that bind to receptors, enzymes or other biological targets as potential new therapeutic agents.

After joining RISE in Jan of 2022 I started 2 research projects. Both of these provide opportunities to learn how to do organic synthesis and apply those skills to develop biologically active compounds for use in drug discovery.
1) Taurine Transporter Inhibitors: we are synthesizing a series of taurine transporter inhibitors to probe their effects on resistance that develops during chemotherapy treatment of ovarian cancer.
2) PROTAC Project: we are synthesizing some tool molecules to help us understand the structure activity relationships of a small molecule called BC-1215 and use this to identify sites on the molecule where we can build in a covalent linker. The goal is to modify BC-1215 with a linker that we can use to develop PROTAC based drugs (collaboration being done with Dr. Lachowicz’s group). See Intro to PROTAC Video

There are a number of other potential projects that involve organic synthesis and drug
discovery that we will start depending on students’ level of interest. For more about my background see Brian McKittrick LinkedIn Profile

I am interested in exploring how various central neurotransmitter systems are affected by pharmacological and environmental manipulations, and how these changes, in turn, are related to behavior.  My research has focused on the biological consequences of stress and the neurochemical effects of drugs of abuse.  Recent theories have emerged which suggest that both stress and drugs of abuse activate certain common pathways within the brain, while chronic exposure to either stimulus can lead to long-lasting changes in the responsiveness of these pathways.  Our laboratory examines the effects of stress and drugs of abuse on neurotransmitter release in these pathways and attempts to correlate the neurochemical changes with observable behaviors.  Investigation of neurochemical changes in response to these stimuli may provide clues about the neural circuitry underlying the behaviors and physiological states associated with drug addiction and stress-related mental illnesses.

The McQuigg lab focuses on wildlife disease ecology, herpetology, and aquatic ecology. Her current research focuses on understanding disease dynamics between the invasive amphibian chytrid fungus,Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and frogs in geographic areas that are not experiencing amphibian declines. In particular, her lab is exploring how environmental conditions and complex aquatic communities moderate pathogen intensity in frogs and how we can manage aquatic habitats to be less disease prone. To answer these questions, we use field sampling and monitoring of frogs, aquatic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, and algal resources, and conduct experiments in the lab. When we aren’t in the field, we use global information systems (GIS) to understand landscape characteristics and molecular techniques such as DNA extraction and quantitation to identify infected individuals.

Students in the Moral and Political Psychology (MAPP) Lab work alongside Prof. G. Scott Morgan to investigate people’s worldviews. The lab empirically tackles three interrelated questions. What are the causes and consequences of seeing attitudes as grounded in moral right and wrong? How do people use political ideologies as lenses through which to make sense of their social world? And what motivates people to stand up in the name of their beliefs — through peaceful or not so peaceful protests and activism? Recent projects have examined how social influence and perceptions of harm shape our tendencies to moralize our beliefs; the reasons we maintain trust for high power members of our political groups even when we know they are lying to us; and the ways that our perceptions of given protest movements (e.g., the Black Lives Matter Movement) shape our views of other protest movements (e.g., climate change activism).

Industrial microbial fermentation is extensively used in the production of food and beverages, vitamins and other fine chemicals, and pharmaceutical products including antibiotics. My lab works on two fermentation projects: production of the antibiotic kibdelomycin produced by the actinomycete Kibdelosporangium sp. and production of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) by the Gram-positive model microorganism Bacillus subtilis. In the first project, students use classical mutagenesis and screening methods to improve the production and pharmacokinetics of kibdelomycin. Purified kibdelomycin is also provided to Dr. Gullo’s group for chemical modification to improve the efficacy of this antibiotic. Classical mutagenesis and screening methods are also used in the second project to isolated host mutations that improve the production level of riboflavin.

Math and Computer Science Department
Hall of Sciences 309
[email protected]

Dr. Alex Rudniy is a researcher in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning. He has a particular interest in large language models and neural network architectures. Large language models are advanced systems designed to understand and generate human language with remarkable accuracy, while neural network architectures provide the foundational frameworks that enable machines to learn from data. Dr. Rudniy’s research focuses on the performance and evaluation of these systems, investigating techniques that enhance their learning capabilities and overall effectiveness. He also studies the integration of emerging computational frameworks with traditional models, seeking to optimize their use in solving complex real-world problems. Dr. Rudniy’s work aims to deepen our understanding of AI, drive innovation in machine learning technologies, and expand their practical applications in diverse industries.

Dr. Windfelder’s research interests include animal behavior and population ecology. Her current research focuses on the small mammal species found on Drew University’s campus and at the nearby Great Swamp Watershed Association’s Conservation Management Area. Since 2009, Dr. Windfelder and her students have been monitoring these small mammal populations to investigate the impact of deer and deer-proof fencing on these populations. With the Drew Forest Restoration Project, we can also examine the effects of the regrowth of a healthy understory and native plant community on these small mammal populations. Furthermore, this long-term study provides the unique opportunity to examine long-term changes in small mammal populations and their responses to stochastic events such as disease outbreaks, major storms, and changes in predation pressure.