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