Skip to content
Contact USI

Faculty Research



Dr. Brian Bohrer (Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry, Indiana University)

Environmental analysis of water samples aiming to detect the presence of agricultural and pharmaceutical pollutants using chromatography and mass spectrometry instrumentation

Dr. Shelly Blunt (Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, University of Iowa) 

Synthesis of quinoline alkaloids as breast cancer target agents and nucleosides as HIV/AIDS target agents and asymmetric epoxidations to form chiral drug targets

Dr. Jeannie Collins (Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Southern Mississippi)

Cytoskeletal proteins involved in motility, structural support, organelle transport and intracellular communication, DNA replication of both slime molds and plants

Dr. Scott Grady (Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, Saint Louis University)

Design and synthesis of mass spectrometry-based tags to characterize endogenous metabolites that can be leveraged for their cytotoxicity in drug design

Dr. Priya Hewavitharanage (Ph.D. Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University)

Synthesis of fluorescent molecules for biological applications such as photodynamic therapy for the treatment of cancer

Dr. Mark Krahling (Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Elemental analysis using atomic spectroscopy, solid phase extraction & gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Dr. Jacob Lutter (Ph.D. Inorganic Chemistry, University of Michigan)

Synthesis of metallacrowns that sensitize emission from trivalent lanthanide ion guests introduced into the macrocyclic core as potential imaging agents, energy upconvertors, and other applications

Dr. Evan Millam (Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, University of Minnesota) 

Electronic spectroscopy, ab initio computational chemistry, first principles determination of vibrationally resolved molecular electronic spectra, transition state calculations, calorimetry

Dr. Ken Walsh (Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, University of Bristol)

Synthesis of carbohydrates and analogs, organocatalysis and organic synthesis, adaption of modern synthetic techniques for the teaching laboratory