USC Chemistry 2010
A Message From the Department Chair
Greetings! I would like to take a moment to update everyone on recent developments in our
instrumentation facilities.
The Chemistry Dpeartment has now received four major NSF and NIH instrumentation grants
funding new NMR spectrometers, a $1 million pulse EPR-ENDOR spectrometer, plus - just
announced - state of the art X-ray diffractometer, aided by a generous gif from the Anton Burg
Foundaiton.
Charles McKenna
Professor and Chairman
Crystal Clear
After only 3 1/2 years at USC, Lin Chen,
professor of biological sciences and
chemistry, made a major breakthrough in
the atomic structure of a protein involved
in neuronal signaling called the nicotinic
acetylcholine receptor, or nAChR. For
decades scientists have debated how signals
pass from the outside to the inside of a cell
through this protein. “This molecule is a key
component for the central nervous system
— for you and me talking, listening and
moving,” Chen explained.
Chen co-wrote a paper on these findings
in Nature Neuroscience with Zuo-Zhong
Wang, associate professor of cell and
neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine.
“I could not sleep all night when I realized
how everything had all come together so
nicely,” Chen said. “It was like the tale of the
six men and the elephant and we had all felt
various parts of it such as a leg or the trunk
but could not tell the whole story.”
Another surprising and exciting result from
the high-resolution structural study is the
(continued on pg. 2 )
sugar molecule revealed on the surface of
nAChR. It turns out that sugar was more
Seizing the Day(light)
Mark Thompson, who has studied solar
cells for the past 20 years, will spend the
next five years developing materials to
improve the efficiency of solar cells as part
of a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
Despite the widespread use of solar energy,
vast improvements are still needed in
the field, according to Mark Thompson,
who holds a joint appointment in the
College’s Department of Chemistry and
USC Viterbi’s Mork Family Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science.
Photo: Max S. Gerber
The College and USC Viterbi were jointly
awarded the $12.5 million grant, which
resulted in the on-campus Center for
Energy Nanoscience (CEN), of which
Thompson is associate director. “CEN’s
mission is to develop materials and
processes for solid state lighting and solar
energy conversion,” Thompson said.
“The center arose out of long-standing
collaborations between Viterbi and College
faculty,” said P. Daniel Dapkus, William
M. Keck Professor of Engineering at USC
Viterbi and director of the CEN. “Mark has
(continued on pg. 2 )
Finding the Right Mix
A tiny drop of blood. One day that may be
all a device needs to screen for hundreds of
cancer markers and viral infections. Richard
Roberts partners with Mark Thompson and
Chongwu Zhou to help create such cuttingedge diagnostic technologies.
Roberts designs proteins using a technique
he invented more than a decade ago. He
pours a collection of approximately 10
trillion protein sequences over a target such
as a virus strain to see which molecules
stick. After six or seven cycles, the sequences
are culled down to a single molecule that
becomes the predominant component of the
final mixture.
Roberts’ collaborators then constructed a
microscale sensory device using the protein.
When the reagent attaches to a viral or
cancer cell in a blood sample, it subtly
changes the electrical properties of the wire
it’s attached to and a signal is emitted. Mark
Thompson focuses on the microfluidic part
of the device and Chongwu Zhou on the
nanosensor material.
“I think this kind of teamwork is
characteristic of what’s happening in biology
today,” said Roberts, who holds a joint
appointment in the College’s Department of
Chemistry and USC Viterbi’s Monk Family
Department of Chemical Engineering and
Materials Science. “There are people who
make stuff, in our case proteins, and it’s
Photo: Max S. Gerber
(continued on pg. 2)
1
Faculty Research in the News
Finding the Right Mix (continued from pg.1)
interesting to try to use those in devices
that actually have some kind of impact.”
With the support of the National
Institutes of Health’s Roadmap
Transformative Research Projects
Program, Roberts is investigating ways
to automate his protein design method
to maximize a diagnostic device’s
capabilities. Roberts and his fellow
researchers in University of California,
Los Angeles’ Department of Medical
Pharmacology and University of
California, Santa Barbara’s Department
of Electrical Engineering hope to
craft technology that would condense
several cycles of purification down
to one. This would allow Roberts to
fashion hundreds of proteins that
could be deployed in a single chip to
simultaneously run tests for hundreds of
different viruses or cancers.
“The core of much new science takes
technologies from many different areas
and puts them together toward some
useful end,” Roberts said. “The results
are often much greater than the sum of
the parts.”
To access the full story by Laurie Moore,
visit http://college.usc.edu/news/
stories/737/finding-the-right-mix/.
Seizing the Day(light) (continued from pg.1)
been a key person in those collaborations
for several years. His research is at
the crossroads between fundamental
chemistry and device applications.”
The unique goal of the center is to
compare and analyze the properties of
organic and inorganic solar devices. The
former is less expensive to produce, yet
also less efficient in energy management,
while the latter performs better but has a
higher price tag.
One of the issues that Thompson, his
Crystal Clear
team and researchers at USC Viterbi will
explore is how to make solar cells better
at collecting light. “The way it works
now, we can collect all the light, but some
of it gets wasted,” he said. According to
Thompson, typically only 25 percent of
the light collected in organic devices can
be turned into electricity.
Although their long-term objectives
involve technological advances in the
field, Thompson points out that in the
coming years the team’s most important
goal is to gain a complete understanding
of the workings of solar devices. “We’re
focused on developing the materials
that will allow us to answer some really
fundamental questions in these devices,”
Thompson said.
“We’re making technical advances by
building a better understanding of the
science.”
To access the full story by Laurie Moore,
visit http://college.usc.edu/news/
stories/736/seizing-the-daylight/.
(continued from pg.1)
than icing on the cake. The studies by
Chen and Wang revealed that sugar
serves as a flexible door or hinge that
opens and closes a gate in the cell
membrane, demonstrating how the
signals pass from the outside to the
inside of a cell.
For example, when nicotine binds to a
neuron, it is sugar that lets the cell know
to send a signal announcing the thrilling
sensation experienced by smokers.
Structural biologist Raymond Stevens
(Ph.D., chemistry, ’88) of the Scripps
Research Institute called the study’s
suggestion of a simple mechanical role
for sugar molecules attached to the
surface of the receptor as nothing less
than “a landmark accomplishment
for the fields of structural biology and
neuronal cell signaling.”
Chen said that study’s findings stand to
impact the development of improved
therapeutics for epilepsy, schizophrenia,
depression and substance addiction.
These new insights were advanced by
X-ray crystallography that facilitated an
intricate view of the molecular structure.
Now in 2010, Chen is on the verge of yet
another major scientific breakthrough
with a family of proteins called Myocyte
Enhancer Factor-2, or MEF2.
According to Chen, MEF2 possesses the
ability to alter the expression of genes
and the structure of chromatin. He
examines how these systems of genes
function using an interdisciplinary
approach by combining high-resolution
structures and chemical design.
“MEF2 is emerging as a potential
therapeutic target for a number
of human diseases, including
neurodegenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases,
autoimmune disorders and transplant
rejection,” Chen said.
A major effort is currently under way
to design and screen inhibitors to bind
MEF2 and block the recruitment of other
molecules such as HDACs and p300 that
are believed to be deregulated in the
aforementioned diseases. Experimental
results suggest that HDAC inhibitors
may also help in treating heart failure
and cancer.
As a structural biologist, Chen searches
for connections between what appear
to be irrelevant pieces of information.
“My work is not as intensely focused as
my biology colleagues who study one
specific biological question. I provide
a bridge and through interactions with
my colleagues I am able to catalyze
interdisciplinary thinking,” he said.
As an example of interdisciplinary
collaboration, he cites that together with
Nicos Petasis, a chemical compound
was designed that modulates the MEF2
function. He then conferred with suitemate Don Arnold, associate professor
of biological sciences, regarding the
testing of the compound in cell culture.
Two days later they found that the
chemical compound was indeed active in
regulating synaptic structure in neurons,
a result consistent with the proposed
roles of MEF2 in neuronal plasticity and
learning and memory.
“USC College has one of the best
chemistry groups in the U.S. and
the Keck School of Medicine of USC
provides fertile ground to explore
numerous areas of strong research with
implications to medical and clinical
development,” Chen said.
Combined with his unique insight on
a molecular detail level, Chen is able
to leverage vast amounts of existing
biochemical and biomedical data for the
direct benefit of society. Eureka! indeed
— all this of great import — in a job he
considers unbelievably exciting and
terrific fun.
To access the full story by Susan
Andrews, visit http://college.usc.edu/
news/stories/729/crystal-clear/.
2
Faculty Research in the News
Charles McKenna to Develop Male Contraceptive Drug
Charles McKenna received $200,000
Partner University award to develop
a male contraceptive drug that affects
sperm development. McKenna’s idea
was one of 12 proposals selected from
among 78.
McKenna will work with researchers
in France at the Institute for Structural
Biology Jean-Pierre Ebel and the Institut
Albert Bonniot. Researchers will
communicate regularly through video
conferencing and visits to each other’s
institutions. McKenna is also fluent in
French and has previously worked with
French researchers.
“That to me was a perfect fit for the
program,” said Mireille Guyarder,
the scientific attache for the Consulate
General of France in Los Angeles, to USC
News.
McKenna said to USC News he expects
the collaboration to help build relations,
potentially encouraging future graduate
students at USC to train in France, or
students in France to come to USC.
“At USC, the general impetus has been
to globalize research,” McKenna said
to USC News. “The emphasis has been
mainly on the Pacific Rim. But there
are also great research opportunities in
Europe at this time.”
The Partner University Fund hopes to
support innovative and sustainable
partnerships between French and U.S.
institutions of research and higher
education.
Sponsored by the French American
Cultural Exchange Foundation in 2007,
the fund receives private donations
and contributions from the French
government.
To access the full story by Tiffanie Wu,
visit http://dailytrojan.com/2010/06/01/
usc-professor-to-develop-malecontraceptive-drug/.
Methanol, a Fuel for the Future
Tapped by USC in 1977 during the world
oil crisis to start a hydrocarbon institute
from the ground floor, George A. Olah
headed west, where he was more
than up for the challenge. He brought
with him Surya Prakash, a brilliant
young graduate student working in his
laboratory, who completed his Ph.D. in
chemistry in 1978. Prakash has worked
closely with Olah through the years as
the institute has grown and experienced
a multitude of scientific successes. And
this includes a shared passion for the
power and possibilities of the methanol
economy.
“The energy conundrum is not about the
energy, but its storage and energy carrier
problems,” Prakash said.
Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural
gas that produce greenhouse warming
carbon dioxide upon combustion,
unlike methanol, are not only becoming
depleted but are environmentally
damaging. While nuclear plants don’t
produce carbon dioxide, they are still
problematic due to radioactive wastes.
Sun and wind energy are excellent and
clean sources of energy, but intermittent
at best. Even in Southern California the
sun does not shine much in June and the
winds are not always blowing off the
ocean.
Surya Prakash said that most people
are unaware that the energy dilemma
comes down to the current 390 parts
per million or 0.0390 percent of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. “By the
end of the 19th century, carbon dioxide
content of the atmosphere was 200 parts
per million, but by the 21st century, it
2
has grown to 390 parts per million and
is expected to reach 550 parts per million
by the end of this century, causing an
imbalance and global warming and
retention.”
Since 1989, Prakash has collaborated
with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) administered by the California
Institute of Technology to develop the
methanol fuel cell as part of a project
funded by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
In the ’90s and in response to the
DARPA request, Prakash, Olah and
colleagues at JPL made a science altering
discovery that has generated a huge
intellectual property portfolio.
Explained in a fuel cell demonstration,
Prakash shows how electricity is
produced with a two-sided (anode and
cathode) membrane electrode assembly
that he brings with him as he gives
talks around the world. The anode side
of the apparatus is injected with two
milliliters of 10 percent methanol and
water mixture while the cathode side is
exposed to air (oxygen). The chemical
energy in methanol on reaction with
oxygen in the air at the membrane
electrode assembly turns into a very
highly efficient DC electricity producing
carbon dioxide and water.
“The gasoline engine in a car is roughly
17 percent efficient and requires a
temperature of 600 to 700 degrees
Celsius to operate — this is called well
to wheel efficiency based on Carnot
limitations,” Prakash said. “At room
temperature, methanol can be up to 97
percent theoretically efficient.”
While multiple chemistry projects
simultaneously percolate in his lab,
Prakash along with Olah and colleagues
at the institute continue to work on
maximizing methanol efficiency and
producing methanol from chemical
recycling of carbon dioxide.
Prakash noted that Toshiba in Japan has
produced two-watt/hour fuel cells for
cell phones and laptops, and Smart Fuel
Cells in Germany have manufactured
similar devices using methanol for the
U.S. Army.
“Methanol can also be used to produce
diesel substitutes, petrochemicals,
plastics, pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals,” Prakash said. “China and
Iceland are currently adapting some
aspects of the methanol economy,
and race cars are already fueled by
methanol.”
Prakash foresees methanol powering
laptops, cell phones, motorcycles,
cars, trucks, locomotives, buses and
ultimately homes. “Methanol is the
fuel of the future. Its time has come,”
Prakash said.
Olah, Prakash, and their research
associate, Alain Goeppert, wrote 2006’s
best-selling science book, now in its
second edition and translated in five
different languages, Beyond Oil and
Gas: The Methanol Economy.
To access the full story by Susan
Andrews, visit http://college.usc.edu/
news/stories/804/methanol-a-fuel-forthe-future/.
3
Faculty in the News
Jim Haw Joins ABC Castle Actors in Short Videos for Environmentalism
Jim Haw was
tapped for his
environmental
expertise, and
is featured
in the videos
along with the
actors in The
Alternative
Travel Project.
Actors Stana Katic and Seamus Dever
gave up their cars for seven days to
explore travel accessibility in Los
Angeles, to benefit the environment and
to enhance personal health.
“I spent half a day on location in
downtown L.A. working with Stana
Katic, Producer Andrew Carlberg, the
Executive Director of the Sierra Club,
and the video and sound professionals,”
Haw said. “Nathan Fillion (who stars as
Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle)
came by to say ‘hi’ and told me to keep
up the good work.”
Dever said when the price of gas hit
four dollars a gallon in Los Angeles, he
borrowed a bike from a good friend and
became known as “that soap opera guy
who comes to work on a red bicycle.”
“I could probably afford a huge car that
sucks up twelve miles to the gallon and
has a huge carbon footprint. But should
I? Is that the responsible thing to do? For
the planet? For my fellow Los Angelenos?
For future generations?” Dever asks.
“The answer is No.”
The series is sponsored by the Sierra
Club. Haw, Ray R. Irani Chairman of
Occidental Petroleum Chair in Chemistry
and the director of environmental
studies, is a longstanding member of the
Sierra Club.
To access the full story by Susan
Andrews, visit http://college.usc.
edu/news/stories/847/jim-haw-joinsabc-castle-actors-in-short-videos-forenvironmenta/.
Surya Prakash Named Director of Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker
Hydrocarbon Research Institute
After 23 years of extraordinary leadership of the
Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Hydrocarbon
Research Institute, George A. Olah, Nobel
laureate, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry,
and Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Chair
in Organic Chemistry, stepped away from the
day-to-day leadership of the institute to further
his groundbreaking research on hydrocarbon
chemistry and to focus on mentoring the next
generation of scientific leaders. Beginning on Sept.
1, Olah assumed the position of founding director
of the institute. Having served as the institute’s
scientific co-director since 2000, Surya Prakash,
George A. and Judith A. Olah Nobel Laureate
Chair in Hydrocarbon Chemistry, and professor of
chemistry, has been named director of the institute.
To access this excerpt, visit http://college.usc.edu/
news/stories/822/faculty-notes/.
Faculty Awards & Honors
Arieh Warshel Honored With Three-Day Symposium
Between Nov. 12-14, Arieh Warshel was
honored with a three-day symposium
titled “Frontiers in the Simulation of
Macromolecules,” held on the University
Park campus.
In celebration of Warshel’s 70th birthday,
more than 100 distinguished colleagues
and former students from around the
world gathered to speak and participate
in the symposium and accompanying
poster session, which was followed by a
gala banquet at Town and Gown.
Some of the attendees at the symposium
included: Neville Kallenbach, New
York University; Harry Gray, Caltech;
Michael Levitt, Stanford University;
Arieh Warshel, USC; Barry Honig,
Columbia University; William Gelbart,
UCLA; Joshua Wand, University of
Pennsylvania; Jenn-Kang Hwang,
National Chaio Tung University; Thomas
Wesolowski, University of Geneva; ErnstWalter Knapp, Freie Universitat Berlin;
Fahmi Himo, Stockholm University;
Per Siegbahn, Stockholm University;
Michael Waterman, USC; Johan Aqvist,
Uppsala University; Charles E. McKenna,
USC; William Parson, University of
Washington; Peter Varnai, University of
Sussex; William Eaton, National Institutes
of Health; Walter Englander, University
of Pennsylvania; Donald Hilvert, ETH
Zürich; Florent Barbault, University Paris
Diderot; Wilfred van Gunsteren, ETH
Zürich; Bertrand Garcia-Moreno, Johns
Hopkins University.
To access this excerpt, visit http://
uscnews.usc.edu/university/warshel_
honored_with_three-day_symposium.
html.
4
Faculty Awards & Honors
Hanna Reisler Wins the Provost’s Mentoring Award
A decade ago, Hanna Reisler started a
monthly brownbag lunch for women in
sciences across departments, providing a
place to relax and air issues.
The networking group thrives today,
with Reisler still sending out reminders
and supplying the cookies.
“As long as they keep coming, that
means there’s a need,” said Reisler of
the Women in Science and Engineering
(WiSE) monthly mentoring sessions.
“I’ll keep reminding them to come and
I’ll keep bringing the cookies.”
It’s this kind of commitment that made
Reisler, who co-founded WiSE at USC
and chairs its advisory board, the
perfect choice for the Provost’s Mentoring
Award 2009. The annual award honors
a faculty member demonstrating
sustained success in mentoring USC
faculty, postdocs, graduate students and
undergraduates.
“USC relies on its mentors to create a
supportive environment for its faculty,
postdocs, and students,” said C. L. Max
Nikias. “Professor Reisler has done so
much to help others succeed and has
contributed greatly to the nurturing
environment from which we all benefit.”
Reisler, the Lloyd Armstrong, Jr. Chair for
Science and Engineering, will receive a
$5,000 award during the 2010 Academic
Honors Convocation on April 13. Her
efforts with WiSE, a program committed
to building a supportive environment for
both women and men in sciences at USC,
is only one reason Reisler won the honor.
She participates in USC’s Female
Undergraduates Educating and Leading
in Science — FUELS — and was an
advisory board member at California
State University, Los Angeles’ program
for minority undergraduate students,
helping them become viable candidates
for admission into Ph.D. programs at
first-rank research institutions such as
USC.
She also served as head of the
Department of Chemistry’s graduate
student advisory committee and adviser
to the USC Chemistry Graduate Student
Association.
“Professor Reisler brings irresistible
energy and irrepressible passion to
mentoring in all its aspects: one-onone, and in the creation of relevant
organizational structures and events,”
said Charles McKenna, chair and
professor of chemistry in the College.
“She is truly a mentor extraordinaire.”
For this honor, candidates must be
nominated by the dean of their school.
USC College Dean Howard Gillman
nominated Reisler, whom he had earlier
appointed as one of three directors of
faculty development. In 2007, Reisler
received a USC-Mellon Award for
Excellence in Mentoring.
“Hanna’s reputation as an extraordinary
mentor has been well-known in USC
College for a long time,” Gillman said of
Reisler, who joined the College in 1977,
becoming a tenured faculty member in
1987. “She has done remarkable work
throughout her career and continues to
make vital contributions. It’s wonderful
to see her leadership recognized in yet
another outstanding award.”
In addition to her involvement in many
organizations, her students say Reisler
excels at providing one-on-one attention.
“She really cares about making her
mentees better at what they do,” said
Blithe Casterline, a fifth-year Ph.D.
student in physical chemistry. “It’s not
just, ‘How can you help me in my job,
how can you help me produce more
papers?’ and so on. It’s, ‘How can I help
you?’ ”
Reisler, for her part, said mentors must
follow one not-always-so simple rule.
“Listen,” she said. “You have to get to
know the person you’re talking to. Don’t
lecture. Listen to them, try to understand
them. Look deeply into what they’re
saying. Look into their souls and see
what’s important to each individual. It’s
never one-size-fits-all.”
She was elated to receive the award.
“This honor means a lot to me because
this has to do with human interactions,”
Reisler said. “It’s connected to the core
values we have at USC. It’s peopleto-people interactions that make USC
special.”
To access this story by Pamela J. Johnson,
visit http://college.usc.edu/news/
stories/691/good-listener-great-mentor/
Other Faculty Awards and Honors
Surya Prakash
Surya Prakash received the CRSI Medal from the Chemical Research Society of India. The medal is conferred on chemists of
Indian origin working outside India and who have contributed extensively in the promotion of chemical research.
Charles McKenna
Charles McKenna was awarded the Provost’s Prize for Teaching with Technology. The prize recognizes faculty achievements in
teaching and learning through the integration of technology into courses and curricula.
Daniel Lidar
Daniel Lidar was named among Science Watch’s top 20 authors in the field of quantum computers. In addition, a paper by Lidar
made the list of top 20 most cited papers in the field in the past two years.
Xiaojiang Chen and Myron Goodman
Xiaojiang Chen and Myron Goodman, and their co-authors had their paper, “A Structural Model for Deoxycytidine Deamination
Mechanisms of the HIV-1 Inactivation Enzyme APOBEC3G,” selected as a Journal of Biological Chemistry “Paper of the Week.”
This distinction is given to the top 1 percent of manuscripts the journal reviews in significance and overall importance from the
more than 6,600 published each year.
To access these excerpt, visit http://college.usc.edu/news/stories/746/faculty-notes/ and http://college.usc.edu/news/stories/822/
faculty-notes/.
4
5
New Faculty
The department is pleased to announce the appointment of Susumu Takahashi to Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Sri R. Narayan to
Research Professor of Chemistry.
Susumu Takahashi
Susumu Takahashi, a physical chemist, received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Florida in 2005 where he was presented with the
best experimental Ph.D. research award. He comes to USC from University of California, Berkeley where he was a postdoctoral researcher.
Takahashi’s research focuses on developing novel magnetic resonance approaches to solve problems at the intersection of physics, chemistry
and biology.
To access this excerpt, visit http://college.usc.edu/college-magazine/.
Sri R. Narayan
Sri R. Narayan, a well known JPL scientist in the field of energy storage chemistry, joined as a Research Professor of Chemistry. He received
his Ph.D. in Electrochemistry from Indian Institute of Science in 1988.
Narayan’s research focuses on the fundamental and applied aspects of electrochemical energy conversion and storage to reduce the carbon footprint of energy use.
To access this excerpt, visit http://college.usc.edu/college-magazine/.
We are also pleased to announce appointments of Peter Djurovich, Ralf Haiges and Terry Takahashi as Assistant Research Professors.
New Instrumentation
Chemistry Off the Charts
The vision of the USC Biomedical
Nanoscience Initiative has become a
reality. It is called the Biomolecular
and Small Molecule Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) Facility — a place
where molecule structures are studied on
a scale of less than a billionth of a meter.
External funding from the National
Science Foundation and the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) combined
with support from the College and the
Provost’s Office resulted in a new suite
of NMR spectrometers: 600, 500 and two
400 megahertz models.
“The department has outstanding
research faculty,” said Charles
McKenna, chair of chemistry, “But
they require advanced instrumentation
to stay competitive. These new NMR
instruments provide essential, state-ofthe-art capabilities that are critical for
our research performance. They will also
assist us as we continue to recruit the best
new faculty in years to come.”
McKenna noted that the 600 MHz model
will primarily be used to study biological
molecules such as proteins, while the
other three are for research on small
molecules.
“With the new NMR capabilities
that we have acquired during the
past year, our scientists are able to
better see the structure of molecules
containing hydrogen, carbon,
phosphorus, fluorine and
other atoms using highly
sophisticated technology,”
McKenna said.
In fact Travis Williams said:
“USC is now probably one of
the best campuses in America
to be an NMR spectroscopist.”
Williams also points out that
having this equipment in the College
has a two-fold impact. NMR time is
inexpensive at USC as compared to most
research universities. Therefore, students
are encouraged to think outside of the
box and test their innovative ideas.
With better scientific tools, Williams’
group has published two high-impact
papers. One was recently published
in Journal of the American Chemical
Society.
Another ongoing chemistry acquisition,
which will have a profound impact in
producing extraordinary molecular
science at USC, is a $1 million pulse
EPR-ENDOR spectrometer to measure
electron spin resonance. By contrast,
NMR spectrometers measure nuclear
spin resonance.
Funded by an NIH stimulus grant to
the chemistry department with support
from the College and Provost’s Office,
this machine will permit chemists
Photo: Susan Andrews
and biologists in the College and the
Keck School of Medicine, and at the
California Institute of Technology to
investigate problems ranging from the
molecular basis of virus infections and
cardiovascular events to the function of
DNA repair in cancer and the mechanism
of N2 fixation.
Mark Thompson, Richard Roberts,
Kyung Jung and Peter Qin took the lead
in joining McKenna and other faculty
participants to contribute the time and
expertise required for the rigorous
proposal writing process, which resulted
in the four major government grants
awarded to fund the new NMR and EPR
instruments.
To access the full story by Susan
Andrews, visit http://college.usc.edu/
news/stories/731/chemistry-off-thecharts/.
6
Students in the News
Keeping Memories Alive
Donned in
a lab coat,
nitrile gloves
and safety
goggles,
Maurice
Turner, a
biochemistry
major and
neuroscience
minor, stands
Photo: Phil Channing
at a fume hood
that vacuums air from around his face,
limiting his exposure to noxious vapors.
Inside a laboratory at The Scripps
Research Institute, the intern adds
chemically constructed sugars to amino
acid sequences and watches the solution
turn a deep red. He wants to determine
whether the additional sugar will affect
instability and misfolding in the proteins.
Misfolded proteins in the brain are
believed the primary cause of diseases
such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Parkinson’s
and cystic fibrosis.
Maurice hopes to discover a way to
prevent these deadly diseases. The quest
is personal. His Aunt Laura died from
Alzheimer’s.
“It was really hard when she stopped
recognizing us,” Maurice says. “Seeing
that deterioration made me passionate
about finding a cure.”
He remembers his Aunt Laura’s peach
cobbler and bigger-than-life personality;
her booming laugh and glasses that
to his young eyes seemed to cover her
entire face. He smiles recalling her
getting down on the floor to play with
him and his older brothers. His aunt had
no children, so Maurice, Marcus and
Matthew became her surrogate sons.
Maurice thought of his aunt when he
applied to the Kelly Laboratory. Selected
from more than 200 applicants, Maurice
was among 25 interns at Scripps in San
Diego. He was the only one chosen to
work at the Kelly lab, which focuses on
protein folding and how it affects the
brain.
After his internship in 2009, Maurice
was invited to return for the summer of
2010. The research he conducted under
the guidance of postdoctoral researchers
was included in a paper, now being
considered for publication in the Journal
of the American Chemical Society.
He selected USC College after listening
to William McClure of the USC Memory
and Aging Center.
“I can’t wait to continue researching in a
USC lab,” Maurice says. “I’d love to work
with Dr. McClure and the memory and
aging center.”
To access the full story by Megan
Christopher, visit http://college.usc.
edu/news/stories/827/keeping-memoriesalive/.
One Bear of a Research Trip
Cara Magnabosco, biochemistry major, underwent rigorous survival skills training before
her research in Svalbard, including what to do
if confronted by hazardous weather or a polar
bear.
Dressed in layers of thermal underwear, a
wool sweater, raincoat and balaclava, Cara
Magnabosco trekked 2 1/2 miles in belowfreezing weather lugging 30 pounds of gear to
her research destination each morning.
Her six-week trip to the island of Spitsbergen
in Svalbard this past summer was part of a
National Science Foundation (NSF) Research
Experiences for Undergraduates fellowship. The biochemistry major was among 12
students nationwide chosen for the program.
After gathering water samples from two lakes,
she’s examining any link between nutrient
limitations and climate change.
She brought home more than 500 samples and
continues to evaluate the chlorophyll, bacterial, nutrient, and nitrogen gas materials with
support from Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE). In March, she will present
her research thesis at a NSF event in Montreal, Canada.
“We’re trying to get a better understanding
of the biogeochemical cycling in fresh water
lakes and what changes are occurring due to
climate change,” Magnabosco said. “[Sval-
bard] is one of the most sensitive regions to
climate change and it’s going on right now.
But the area has never really been looked at
before from a biological perspective.”
Her research opportunity in Svalbard included
a few surprises. Students had learned to shoot
a rifle to protect themselves from polar bears.
That proved to be wise. During her first week
conducting field research, an emaciated polar
bear wandered into their base camp.
“He was hungry,” Magnabosco said. “He was
abnormally skinny. He hung around our base
camp probably because he could smell food.”
Polar bears are considered marine animals
because they live predominately on sea ice
and consume seals.
“Polar bears are dying because the sea ice is
melting and it is becoming harder for them
to hunt,” Magnabosco said. “They’re coming
inland in hopes they can scavenge something
off the ground.”
The polar bear got close to their camp.
“He got right up to the building,” she said.
“We could see him pass by the window. We
weren’t allowed to go out except to eat. When
I had to go from my room to the dining room,
two people carrying rifles escorted me.”
Reading about it is one thing, but seeing the
melting ice in person was startling, she said.
“When we hiked up to one glacier, we
Photo: Al Werner
could see the imprint of where it once was and
where it is now,” she said. “We could plainly
see how much it’s melted back. It was significant.”
She roughed it in Svalbard and wants to go
back for more. She has applied for a Fulbright
scholarship and hopes to return to Svalbard
to conduct research for a year before entering
graduate school.
In the near future, Magnabosco wants to study
aquaculture — or fish farming. It involves
cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions. Fish farming is crucial right now because many valuable fish species are disappearing from oceans
in the United States due to over harvesting,
loss of habitat and pollution.
“Since aquaculture is a relatively young
industry, I want to focus on making it more
sustainable now because we have an opportu-
Maria Frushicheva Received the Biophysical Society’s Travel Award
Maria Frushicheva received a travel award from the Biophysical Society to attend the society’s 55th annual meeting.
6
7
Congratulations to our Chemistry and
Biochemistry Majors
Paul N. Frank
University Trustee Award
Discovery Scholar Finalist
Michael A. Cheah
USC Renaissance Scholar
Erica Cua
Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society
Vladimir A. Lyubimov
Discovery Scholar Finalist
Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society
Nadia El-Fakih
USC Renaissance Scholar
Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society
Keya Manshadi
Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society
Oliver H. Gantz
USC Renaissance Scholar
Ted V. Tso
USC Renaissance Scholar
Hillary S. Gregg
USC Renaissance Scholar
Melody Sun
Golden Key International Honor Society
Obituaries
David Allen Ellis
David Allen Ellis (M.S.,chemistry, ’48; Ph.D., chemistry,’50), Oklahoma City, OK (03/05/10) at age 92; worked in a weather bureau in Alaska;
enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he worked in weather intelligence in India during WWII; worked as a research chemist for Dow
Chemical in Pittsburg, CA; after early retirement from Dow, he became a professor of chemistry at Azusa Pacific College, now Azusa Pacific
University.
To access this excerpt, visit http://college.usc.edu/college-magazine/.
Lloyd T. Lorbeer
Lloyd T. Lorbeer (B.S., chemistry, ’63), Scottsdale, AZ (03/05/10) at age 87; a captain in the U.S. Army stationed on the front lines in Korea
where he was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism; had a general medical practice in L.A., and then became a medical director with Lockheed
Aircraft; went on to become the Phoenix Western Electric Plant medical director and manager; was also a draftsman and published author.
To access this excerpt, visit http://college.usc.edu/college-magazine/.
Herman Yee
Herman Yee (B.S.., chemistry, ’81; Ph.D., chemistry, ’88) passed away on November 9, 2010 in Pomona, NY. He was born in El Paso, Texas
on October 22 1959. He earned BS and PhD degrees in Chemistry from the University of Southern California, and his MD degree from McGill
University in Montreal. He married Dr. Ann Elizabeth Doniguian on October 21, 1992. Dr. Yee did his residency training in Pathology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, followed by fellowship training at New York University Medical Center, and was then appointed an attending physician there. He greatly enjoyed teaching both students and residents, and was proud to have inspired several students to enter training in
pathology. Dr. Herman Yee is survived by his loving wife, Dr. Ann Elizabeth Doniguian and loving daughter Lily.
8