Faculty & Staff

Research areas: peptide chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry, organic chemistry

• Developing a practical toolbox of methodologies for synthesizing peptides and peptidomimetics with enhanced properties to address challenges in drug development and disease treatment.

Website: https://www.abboudlab.com/

Research areas: biochemistry, chemical education, computational/physical chemistry

• Peptide-lipid interactions in membranes
• Lipid-lipid and lipid-cholesterol interactions in membranes
• Membrane-active peptides: cell-penetrating peptides, antimicrobial peptides
• Membrane b-barrel proteins and peptides
• Biophysical education

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/antjepauloalmeida

Veterans Hall 3055
910.962.7300
almeidap@uncw.edu

Research areas: biochemistry, computational/physical chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Peptide-lipid interactions
• Antimicrobial peptides
• Structure and function of lipid bilayers
• Lipopeptide design

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/antjepauloalmeida/home

Veterans Hall 3053
910.962.4231
almeidaa@uncw.edu

Research areas: analytical chemistry, biochemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• The role of histone chaperones in chromatin dynamics
• Histone acetyltransferases (Rtt109, p300 and CBP)
• Multiproduct enzymology
• Targeted quantitative mass spectrometry for enzymology

Veterans Hall 3025-C
andrewsaj@uncw.edu

Research area: marine and atmospheric chemistry

• Wet and dry atmospheric deposition of trace metals
• Contribution of sediment porewater trace metals to surface waters
• The effect of photochemistry on fluxes of trace metals to surface waters
• Sea level rise impacts on biogeochemical processes

Dobo Hall 2043-A
910.962.7388
averyg@uncw.edu

Research area: organic chemistry

• Leveraging the efficiency of hydrosilylation of alkenes to build carbon-element bonds from carbon-silicon bonds using both polar (2 e-) and also photoredox (1 e-) catalysis
• Developing new synthetic routes to organobismuth compounds from non-classical precursors and their use in functionalizing small molecules
• Studying fundamental oxidative and reductive organometallic reactivity of heteroleptic organobismuth compounds
• C–H bond amination in new contexts using rhodium and other transition and non-transition metal catalysts

Website: www.chiappinichem.org

Dobo Hall 2050
chiappinin@uncw.edu

Research areas: organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Organocatalysis (using small organic molecules to catalyze chemical reactions)
• Photochemical method development employing ultraviolet and visible light
• Exploration of novel applications for organic azides

Dobo Hall 2051
910.962.7250
coombst@uncw.edu

Research area: organic chemistry

• Organic lab development and implementation
• Organic synthesis
• Green chemistry

Dobo Hall 2001-A
910.962.7643
corpush@uncw.edu

Research areas: biochemistry, protein crystallography

• Structural determination and function analysis of enzymes
• Redox and phosphorylation regulated cellular proteins
• Protein dynamics and how it relates to catalysis process
• Enzyme-inhibitor complexes and design

Website:  sites.google.com/view/hbcatc

Veterans Hall 3049
Email: dongm@uncw.edu
Office:  910-962-2955

Research areas: biochemistry, organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Synthesize covalent inhibitors against aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase
• Synthesize Trojan horse inhibitors to cross microbial membranes
• Use chemical modification to mimic a labile cysteine phosphate intermediate in protein tyrosine phosphatases
• Study the role of forensic errors in wrongful convictions

Dobo Hall 2018
910.962.7427
halkidesc@uncw.edu

Research area: inorganic chemistry

• Design and synthesis of ligands for selective complexation of metal ions and selective substrates
• Separation of metal ions in extractive metallurgical applications
• Metal ions in biomedical applications

Dobo Hall 2033
910.962.3025
hancockr@uncw.edu

Research areas: analytical chemistry, marine and atmospheric chemistry

• Microbial cycling of dissolved organic matter and its role in the marine carbon cycle
• Mass spectrometry, metabolomics, analysis of small molecules
• Emerging contaminants in aquatic coastal environments

Website: https://www.johnsonbiogeochem.com/

Dobo Hall 2014-A
910.962.2902
johnsonwm@uncw.edu

Research areas: analytical chemistry, inorganic chemistry

• Determination of formation constants of highly preorganized ligands with metals of interest in biochemical and nuclear energy applications using UV-Vis absorbance, fluorescence, and NMR spectroscopies.
• Examination of the participation of lanthanoid f orbitals in metal ligand bonding
• Determination of formation constants of highly preorganized low solubility ligands with lanthanoids using long path length UV-Vis absorbance

Dobo Hall 2037
910.962.3211
joness@uncw.edu

Research areas: biochemistry, computational/physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry

• Computational studies of isolated biochemical systems
• Guiding students to become effective science communicators
• Evidence based methods to minimize disparities in equity
• Understanding narrative structures
  

Veterans Hall 3002-C
910.962.2520
kurianr@uncw.edu

Research area: analytical chemistry

• Instrument repair and maintenance
• Teaching Quantitative Analysis Lab
  

Dobo Hall 2003-A
910.962.3455
lancasterr@uncw.edu

Research areas: biochemistry, computational/physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Understanding the action of cell-penetrating and antimicrobial peptides against cell-membrane via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and developing efficient cargo-delivery peptides that can bring drugs to the interior of target cell
• Understanding the catalytic activity of the binding pockets in enzymatic proteins via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations
• Investigating the nature of chemical bonding involving Lanthanides and Actinides using density functional theory (DFT) method
• Understanding the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanisms of fluorescent ion sensors using time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) method to develop efficient metal ion sensors
• DFT studies of reaction mechanism, such as electrophilic radical addition to anamine

Website: http://people.uncw.edu/leehs/research.html

Veterans Hall 3025-E
910.962.2439
leehs@uncw.edu

Research area: inorganic chemistry

• As a program coordinator, I am excited to promote the online M.S. in chemistry program at UNCW and support both its esteemed students and brilliant instructors.
• As a lecturer, I teach general chemistry, physical chemistry, as well as the highly specialized fields of nano and supramolecular chemistry, and polymer and industrial chemistry.
• My area of study focuses on nanochemistry and its applications in the development of sensors and drug delivery vehicles.
• My research is centered on the exploration of fluorescence sensors and their underlying sensing mechanisms.
  

Veterans Hall 3002-D
910.962.7123
leek@uncw.edu

Research areas: chemical education, computational/physical chemistry

• Computational quantum dynamics
• H atom tunneling in enzyme-catalyzed quantum dynamics
• The coupled electron-nuclear quantum dynamics of metal-mediated dihydrogen activation
• Development of Modules for the real-time visualization of laser-molecule interactions (UV, IR)
• Development of algorithms for solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for long-time non-adiabatic processes

Veterans Hall 3025-D
910.962.7298
messinam@uncw.edu

Research areas: organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Student training in organic reaction development
• New catalytic methods for the synthesis of chiral, non-racemic organic molecules
• Discovery of small molecule pharmaceuticals for the treatment of human disease
• Understanding organometallic mechanism in enantioselective catalysis

Website: https://www.morganchemistry.com/

Veterans Hall 3003-A/Dobo Hall 2068
910.962.2429
morganj@uncw.edu

Research areas: analytical chemistry, marine and atmospheric chemistry, organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Investigating how natural products structure marine communities
• Leveraging ecological relevance of marine natural products for drug discovery
• Combinatorial mass spectrometry- and nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics
• Development of analytical methodologies for biotechnology and industrial applications
• Expansion of inclusivity in chemistry and science via expanded mentorship networks

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/uncwdisco/home

Dobo Hall 1055-A
910.962.4425
poulinr@uncw.edu

Research area: marine and atmospheric chemistry

• Trace metals in water, sediments, biota
• Photochemistry of resuspendable sediments
• Sediment-water exchange
• Trace metal speciation in estuarine and marine waters

CMS 1118
910.962.7160
skrabals@uncw.edu

Research areas: analytical chemistry, marine and atmospheric chemistry, organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Bacterial natural product chemistry and structure elucidation
• Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics
• Harmful algal bloom toxins and new bioactive compound discovery
• Dissolved organic matter cycling on coral reefs
• Medicinal plant extract pharmacokinetics

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/uncwdisco/home?pli=1

MARBIONC 2023-A
910.962.2393
strangmanw@uncw.edu

Research area: chemistry education

• Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) in large lecture courses
• Analysis of cognitive overload in introductory chemistry courses using active learning teaching methodologies

Veterans Hall 3002-G
turnern@uncw.edu

Research areas: biochemistry, organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Design and Investigation of site-specific DNA-damaging agents targeting cancer cells.
• Developing the use of nuclear receptors for delivery of toxins to the DNA of cells.
• Mechanistic investigations of DNA-damage induced cell toxicity.
• Synthesis of anti-inflammatory compounds for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Website: http://people.uncw.edu/varadarajans

Dobo Hall 2064
910.962.7350
varadarajans@uncw.edu

Research area: inorganic chemistry

• Coordinator of the General Chemistry Program
• Faculty Advisor of the Chemistry Club
• Faculty Advisor of the Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Gamma Sigma Epsilon

Veterans Hall 3002-E
910.962.7606
walterse@uncw.edu

Research areas: biochemistry, computational/physical chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Macromolecular condensation in biological systems
  • age-related and hereditary cataracts
  • ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules
• Biopharmaceutical formulations
  • concentrated therapeutic monoclonal antibody formulations
  • mRNA lipid nanoparticle formulations
  • dissolvable microneedle array patch (dMAP) delivery system
• Protein engineering
  • structure-based design of pan-influenza vaccines

Website: https://www.thewanglab.org/

Veterans Hall 3045
910.962.7721
wangyy@uncw.edu

Research area: analytical chemistry

• Instrument and technique development for diverse analytical spectroscopy applications.
• Solution-cathode glow discharge: detecting trace metals with a small plasma.
• Spectral imaging: chemical information from images, including detecting forgeries.
• Microcontroller-based spectroscopy: Arduinos, LEDs, & 3D printing used for inexpensive educational and field instruments.

Website: http://people.uncw.edu/webbm/

Veterans Hall 3047
910.962.7285
webbm@uncw.edu

Research area: natural product sythesis, methodology development

Dobo Hall 1028
910.962.2770
williamsoner@uncw.edu

Research areas: analytical chemistry, computational/physical chemistry, marine and atmospheric chemistry, organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry

• Marine natural products drug discovery
• Development and application of new methods for molecular characterization with an emphasis on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
• Analytical method development for biotechnology and industrial applications

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/uncwdisco/home

MARBIONC 2001-B
910.962.2397
williamsonr@uncw.edu

• Dr. Essam H. El-Behaedi
• Dr. Louis D. Quin
• Dr. Yousry A. Sayed
• Dr. Joan D. Willey