Abstract: Dinoflagellates are an important group of eukaryotic microorganisms found in freshwater and marine environments. Certain dinoflagellates produce potent toxins that are the causative agents of diarrheic, amnesic, paralytic, and neurotoxic shellfish poisonings, and are responsible for the formation of harmful algal blooms (red tides). Still other dinoflagellates are capable of both photosynthesis and bioluminescence, processes that are regulated by a cellular circadian rhythm (biological clock) and give rise to bioluminescent bays and the ‘phosphorescence’ of the sea. The key, light-forming enzyme of dinoflagellate bioluminescence, dinoflagellate luciferase (LCF), contains three homologous catalytic domains within a single polypeptide and is tightly regulated by pH. The production of blue-green light by LCF is coupled to the oxidation of an open-chain tetrapyrrolic substrate, dinoflagellate luciferin (LH2), which is a catabolite of the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll. Current progress in our understanding of LH2 biosynthesis and the chemiluminescent and pH-dependent activation mechanisms of LCF will be presented.

Research: https://www.auburn.edu/cosam/faculty/chemistry/mansoorabadi/index.htm

This presentation will describe our group's recent advances in developing metal-mediated/catalyzed methods for introducing fluorine into organic molecules. Our efforts into this area are guided by detailed fundamental studies of stoichiometric organometallic bond-forming reactions. These fundamental studies will be described in detail, and their translation to practical applications (particularly in the context of the synthesis of PET imaging agents) will be discussed.

                                                       Dr. Melanie Sanford

Melanie S. Sanford is currently the Moses Gomberg Distingished University Professor of Chemistry and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees at Yale University in 1996 where she carried out undergraduate research in the laboratory of Professor Robert Crabtree. She pursued graduate studies at the California Institute of Technology working with Professor Robert Grubbs. Following postdoctoral work at Princeton University with Professor John Groves, she joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in the summer of 2003 as an Assistant Professor of chemistry. She was promoted to associate professor in 2007, to full professor in 2010, to Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry in 2011, and to Moses Gomberg Collegiate Professor of Chemistry in 2012. She has won a number of awards, including the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry, the Sackler Prize, the Blavatnik Award, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the ACS. Research in the Sanford group aims to develop new chemical reactions that enable the production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and fuels in a more efficient and environmentally friendly manner. 

During the afternoon of October 24, 2019 the Chemistry Department will celebrate the 100^th birthday (on December 9) of William Nunn Lipscomb, Jr., who is perhaps our most illustrious graduate.  Lipscomb grew up in Lexington, graduated in 1941 from the University of Kentucky with a major in chemistry, and earned his Ph.D. from CalTech in 1946, where his mentor was Linus Pauling.  After 13 years as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota Lipscomb was hired away in 1959 by Harvard University.  In 1976 Lipscomb was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the structures and bonding of boranes, which are compounds composed of boron and hydrogen atoms.  Later Lipscomb was equally well known for his pioneering studies of atomic-level structures of enzymes.

The celebration promises to be interesting and fun.  There will be three speakers:  Marjorie Wikler Senechal is a Lexington native who took piano lessons from Lipscomb’s sister and remained close to the family.  She is Professor Emerita in Mathematics and History of Science and Technology at Smith College.  The other two speakers earned their Ph.D. degrees at Harvard under Lipscomb’s direction.  Irving R. Epstein, a professor at Brandeis University, will talk about Lipscomb's experimental and computational studies of boron compounds.  Douglas C. Rees, a Lexington native who is now a professor at CalTech, will discuss Lipscomb’s biochemical work.  All three will include anecdotes about Lipscomb, who was known to all as The Colonel, who made a YouTube video about how to tie a string tie (which had become his trademark), and who regularly found ways to slip amusing bits into his scientific papers.

The celebration, which will take place from 1-5 PM at the W. T. Young Library Auditorium, will be open to the public. 

For a detailed schedule and information about the speakers, click here.

For information related to parking, please refer to the Transportation Services website at https://www.uky.edu/transportation/

Alyson Ackerman - Alyson Ackerman graduated from UK in May 2018 with a B.S. in Biochemistry.   While at UK, Alyson participated in the professional chemistry fraternity, Alpha Chi Sigma, and conducted research with Dr. Lodder from the College of Pharmacy.  Shortly after graduating, Alyson started working for Murty Pharmaceuticals. In her role as a QC chemist, Alyson tests raw materials, finished products, and performs various calibrations to ensure the lab equipment is qualified for use. She frequently works with HPLCs, UV-vis, FT-IR, and Laser Diffraction Particle Sizing.

Susan Griffith - J. Susan Griffith MD has been a College Health physician at U.K. since 1992.  She is a Board-Certified Family Physician and previously worked in Urgent Care in Cincinnati OH and as a faculty member of the Department of Family Medicine at UK.  She received her B.S. in Physical Anthropology in 1977 from UK and completed her MD in 1982 at UK. Her residency in Family Medicine was from 1982-85 at UK and she was the Chief Resident from 1984-85.    Dr. Griffith enjoyed her time in the Chemistry-Physics building, taking 20 hours of Chemistry courses and 10 hours of Physics courses as part of the Pre-Med requirements.  It was also an interesting experience for her to have her father as a teacher.  Her dad, Charles H.H. Griffith, was the Lab Supervisor for Chem-115 from 1964-1993.  At University Health Service at UK, she does all the minor surgical procedures in addition to regular medical care for UK students and employees.  Her volunteer work includes being the Research Chair for the International Council of Multiple Birth Organization and the Research Interpreter for Multiples of America.  Dr. Griffith adds , “As part of the eulogy I gave for my dad, I told everyone how much my dad loved Chemistry and how much he loved teaching the students of the University of Kentucky.  I want to honor his memory by doing whatever I can to help the UK Chemistry Department continue to be a strong scientific department that cares about the students of UK.”

Jeffrey R. Lomprey - Dr. Jeff Lomprey is a partner and intellectual property lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP where his practice focuses on patent preparation, both U.S. and foreign prosecution, counseling, due diligence, and litigation support. He is a member of the firm’s Chemical, Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Practice as well as the Life Sciences Industry Team. Jeff’s interests span a diverse array of chemical and mechanical technologies. He has significant experience in the areas of small molecule chemistry, pharmaceuticals, batteries, catalysts, polymers, electrochemistry, organic light emitting diodes, mechanical devices, and medical devices. Prior to joining Foley, Jeff was a senior research chemist at Gentex Corporation from 1997-2002, where he was involved in the development and production of automatically dimming automobile mirrors. Jeff earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Law School (cum laude, 2005), where he was a member of the Dean’s list. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Kentucky (1993), and was the recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher Award. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point (1988). Dr. Lomprey is admitted to practice in Wisconsin and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member the Wisconsin and American Bar Associations, the American Chemical Society and the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Tanea Reed - Dr. Reed received her PhD in biological chemistry from the University of Kentucky and worked under the guidance of Dr. D. Allan Butterfield. While at UK, she received the Lyman T. Johnson Minority Fellowship and the UK Woman’s Club Endowed Fellowship. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 2010, Dr. Reed received the Hermann Esterbauer award in Turin, Italy for her work on lipid peroxidation in Alzheimer’s disease. She is currently a member of the international selection committee for this award. Dr. Reed is currently an associate professor of biochemistry at Eastern Kentucky University, where she serves as a research mentor for undergraduate and graduate students. She was recently awarded an area enrichment award from the National Institutes of Health for her research which focuses on post injury treatments for moderate traumatic brain injury.

Vince Stapp - Vince earned his BS in Chemistry from the University of Kentucky in 1991, and received the Undergraduate Service Award with focused interests in Mass Spectrometry and Separation Science.  During his time as an undergraduate, he was a freshman chemistry lab teaching assistant and he conducted his undergraduate research with Dr. John Patterson on new synthesis routes for n-substituted pyrroles.  Vince spent one year as a staff scientist at PTRL, Inc. in Richmond, KY developing quantitative GC/MS methods for environmental fate studies of pesticides and herbicides.  He then began his career at Procter & Gamble in 1992, and has worked as an analytical chemist and technical leader in several different P&G business units including Skin/Beauty Care, Corporate Research Division Mass Spectrometry group, and Upstream Paper Technology.  His focus during this time was developing MS(n), accurate mass, GC/MS, and LC/MS methods for structure elucidation and quantitative analysis, and worked in close partnership with P&G technologists on biodegradable polymer feedstocks (Nodax), bleach catalysts, phospholipids (Olestra), and adhesives.  Vince has a broad background in material science, volatiles analysis and olfaction, mass spectrometry, separation science, and complex technical problem solving.  His last 17 years has been in the Baby Care business as a Senior Scientist where he has been an analytical leader for the polymer films and nonwovens material development area.  Vince’s passion is people development.  He is active as a technical and career mentor both inside and outside of P&G.

Abstract: The (4+3)-cycloaddition reaction is a quick and efficient entry to seven-membered rings, and those that are larger and smaller as well.  This presentation will focus on our contributions to this area from both a historical and present-day perspective.  This latter aspect will be dominated by our work on the cycloaddition reactions of oxidopyridinium ions.

Research: http://faculty.missouri.edu/~harmatam/

Michael Harmata was born in Chicago in 1959.  He attended St. Michael the Archangel grammar school, Thomas Kelly High School, and the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he received his AB degree in chemistry with a math minor in 1980, working in the labs of Jacques Kagan and graduating with honors and highest distinction and all that great stuff that doesn’t matter anymore.  He earned his PhD under the tutelage of Scott E. Denmark at the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois in early 1985, working on carbanion-accelerated Claisen rearrangements.  He then did an NIH postdoc with Paul A. Wender at Stanford University where he performed some of the first work on the synthesis of the neocarzinostatin chromophore.  He began his independent career at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1986, where he is now the Norman Rabjohn Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.  He has been contributed significantly to the areas of (4+3)-cycloaddition reactions, benzothiazine chemistry, pericyclic reactions of cyclopentadienones, chiral molecular tweezers, silver-catalyzed chemistry, and more.