Current PFFs

Katie Frato

PFF Katie Frato

Conducting research in the laboratory of Professor Sean Elliott. The Elliott Group combines interests in bioinorganic chemistry, mechanistic enzymology, electrochemistry, and environmental microbiology to understand how biological macromolecules undergo redox transformations. Dr. Frato received her Ph.D. in Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry in 2009 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , working with Professor Robert Schleif. Her research focused on developing a DNA-assisted binding assay for weak protein-protein interactions.

 

Wendy Iskenderian-Epps

Wendy Iskenderian-Epps

Conducting research in laboratory of Professor Karen Allen, which investigates protein structure and function through X-ray diffraction and enzyme kinetic studies. Dr. Iskenderian-Epps’ teaching contributions are in Organic Chemistry, where she leads discussion sections and laboratories and helps develop laboratory curricula. She received her Ph.D. in 2011 from MIT, where her advisor was Professor Barbara Imperiali. Her graduate work focused on the synthesis and validation of biophysical tools for interrogating PDZ domain interactions in neurons, which are critical to the translation of molecular signals into learning and memory. Specifically, Wendy developed fluorescence-based sensors that report binding events to specific PDZ domains. Wendy received her B.A. in Chemistry and Music (summa cum laude) from Pomona College (Claremont, CA). Both her research and teaching have received recognition, including the MIT Wyeth Scholar Award, 2009, NSCRC Graduate Women in Science Excellent Poster Presentation Award, 2008, and MIT Chemistry Outstanding Teaching Award, 2006.

 

Adam Moser

Moser, Adam

Conducting research in the laboratory of Professor John Straub in computational chemistry. Dr. Moser received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, with Professor Darrin York. He worked on a variety of computational projects, including implicit and explicit solvation model development, benchmark ab initio calculations for proton affinity and gas phase basicities, and ribozyme simulation. He also did collaborative work with the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center on the influence of C-5 DNA methylation on tobacco induced lung cancer.

 

PFF Seann MulcahySeann Mulcahy

Conducting research in the laboratory of Professor John Snyder in natural product synthesis. Dr. Mulcahy received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, in 2009, working with Professor Eric Meggers. As a graduate student he developed parallel techniques for the synthesis and biological evaluation of ruthenium(II) complexes. Most recently Dr. Mulcahy was a postdoctoral research associate with Professor Seth Herzon at Yale University, New Haven, CT, studying the mechanism of action and performing structure function studies of the diazufluorene antitumor antibiotics.