Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University

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Kacie Evans, is hosting a student-invited Analytical Seminar (Tuesday, October 20th, at 11:30 AM), featuring Dr. Richard Vachet of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Vachet's seminar is titled, "Studying Protein Structure, Binding, and Aggregation in Complex Mixtures." Join us!

Seminar flyer with ATM logo, abstract text, and sidebar with a headshot and biosketch. Abstract text: Characterizing the higher-order structures and interactions of proteins in complex mixtures is challenging and requires the development of new tools. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques are emerging as valuable tools in structural biology, and among these tools covalent labeling (CL) methods have some unique advantages that can be exploited to study protein structure, protein interactions, and protein aggregation, including in live cells. We are developing and applying new CL-MS methods to study the pre-amyloid forms of two important amyloid systems. One is β-2-microglobulin, which forms amyloids in dialysis-related amyloidosis. The second is Tau, which is important in various tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease. We are also developing an approach to study Tau binding to the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) in live cells because LRP1 is a master regulator of Tau aggregation and spread in neurons. Biosketch: Richard Vachet, Professor in the Dept. of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He did postdoctoral research at the US Naval Research Laboratory. His current research focuses on: (a) development and application of mass spectrometry-based methods to study protein amyloid formation; and (b) detection and imaging of nanomaterial therapeutic delivery agents in biological systems. He has been a member of the Editorial Board of JASMS and the Features Panel of Anal. Chem. He was recently elected Fellow of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry.
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Dr. Lauren Hagler is hosting a Chemical Biology Seminar (Monday, October 19th, at 11:30 AM in CHEM 2104), featuring Dr. Jennifer Heemstra of Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Heemstra’s seminar is titled “A Chemical Biology Toolbox for Probing A-to-I RNA Editing”. Join us!

Seminar flyer with ATM logo, abstract, and biosketch with photo of Dr. Heemstra. Abstract text: RNA undergoes extensive modification through enzymatic post-transcriptional editing events. Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing is one of the most widespread and impactful of these modifications and is catalyzed by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs). Resulting inosines base pair with cytosine, essentially re-coding adenosine sites to guanine. Editing is essential for a number of processes including embryogenesis, neurological function, and innate cellular immunity. Dysfunctional editing is also linked to auto-immune diseases, neurological disorders, and several types of cancer. Despite this importance, numerous challenges remain for studying A-to-I editing, and our overall understanding of the locations and frequency of inosine sites remains limited. To address this challenge, we have repurposed EndoV from an RNA-cleaving enzyme into an RNA-binding protein and demonstrated its use for mapping of A-to-I editing sites and global profiling of RNA inosine content in cells and tissue samples. Biosketch: Jen Heemstra is the Charles Allen Thomas Professor and Chair of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. She earned her B.S. at UC Irvine and her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, then worked in industry and completed postdoctoral research at Harvard before starting her lab in 2010. Her group harnesses nucleic acids and proteins for biosensing and bioimaging. A dedicated science communicator and mentor, she has received the Cottrell Scholar and NSF CAREER Awards and is a Fellow of AAAS. Outside of work, she enjoys climbing, cycling, running, and spending time with her family.
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Dr. Marcetta Darensbourg will host an Inorganic Seminar (Thursday, October 15, at 11:30 AM in CHEM 2104), featuring Dr. Gwen Bailey (Minnesota). Dr. Bailey's seminar is titled “Atomic Precision as a Path Towards Precious Metal-Free Catalysts”. Join us!

Seminar Flyer with ATM logo, abstract, and sidebar with photo of Dr. Bailey and biosketch. Abstract text: The transition toward a secure energy economy is limited by our dependence on critical, scarce metals, creating an urgent need for catalysts composed of earth-abundant elements. Multinary metal chalcogenides offer a tunable platform for replacing precious materials, but their cooperative, multi-center active sites are difficult to isolate and study on extended surfaces. In this talk, I will describe the use of atomically precise molecular clusters as model systems to resolve these active-site mechanisms. Their structural clarity and precise physical and kinetic control allow complex reaction pathways to be deconvoluted and clear structure-function relationships established, shifting catalyst discovery from empirical trial-and-error toward rational design. I will also show how well-defined supramolecular interactions can systematically tune cluster electronic structure and reactivity. Overall, these studies demonstrate how atomic precision can guide the design of functional materials for multi-electron energy conversion reactions. Biosketch text: Prof. Gwen Bailey earned her B.Sc. from UBC (Lefevre Medal) and Ph.D. from Ottawa as an NSERC CGS-D fellow before completing postdoctoral research at Caltech. She joined the University of Minnesota in 2021, where her group develops Earth-abundant catalysts for energy conversion. Her work has earned several honors, including the 2023 ACS PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award and 2026 Beckman Young Investigator Award, and has led to over 50 invited lectures across North America and at major international scientific meetings.
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Drs. Jonathan Sczepanski and Lauren Hagler will host Dr. Matthew Disney (Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology) as part of our Frontiers in Chemical Research Lecture Series, October 12 - 14 at 11:30 AM each day in 2104 CHEM. Join us!

Seminar flyer MON | Oct. 12: RNA’s Evolution from an Eccentric Molecule to a New Class of Medicines TUES | Oct. 13: Sequence-based Design of Small Molecules Targeting RNA – From Chemical Probes to Precision Medicines Abstract: WED | Oct. 14: Covalent Approaches to Study and Optimize Small Molecule—RNA Interactions RNA has evolved from being viewed primarily as an intermediate between DNA and protein to being recognized as a functional biomolecule that can directly drive human disease and serve as a therapeutic target. RNA folds into complex structures, regulates gene expression, catalyzes chemical reactions, and participates in nearly every major biological process. These properties create opportunities to develop new medicines that act directly on RNA. Across this lecture series, Dr. Disney will describe how discoveries in RNA biology have shaped our understanding of RNA as a drug target and how chemical biology can be used to identify and exploit disease-relevant RNA structures. His group’s work combines RNA structure and large-scale screening to define RNA–small molecule recognition principles and to identify ligandable RNA structures across the transcriptome. These approaches enable sequence-based design of small molecules that modulate RNA processing, including strategies that recruit endogenous ribonucleases to selectively degrade disease-causing RNAs. LEARN MORE AT: artsci.tamu.edu/chemistry/about/medals-lectureships/frontiers-lecture-series.html
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Drs. Jonathan Sczepanski and Lauren Hagler will host Dr. Matthew Disney (Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology) as part of our Frontiers in Chemical Research Lecture Series, October 12 - 14 at 11:30 AM each day in 2104 CHEM. Join us!

Seminar flyer MON | Oct. 12: RNA’s Evolution from an Eccentric Molecule to a New Class of Medicines TUES | Oct. 13: Sequence-based Design of Small Molecules Targeting RNA – From Chemical Probes to Precision Medicines Abstract: WED | Oct. 14: Covalent Approaches to Study and Optimize Small Molecule—RNA Interactions RNA has evolved from being viewed primarily as an intermediate between DNA and protein to being recognized as a functional biomolecule that can directly drive human disease and serve as a therapeutic target. RNA folds into complex structures, regulates gene expression, catalyzes chemical reactions, and participates in nearly every major biological process. These properties create opportunities to develop new medicines that act directly on RNA. Across this lecture series, Dr. Disney will describe how discoveries in RNA biology have shaped our understanding of RNA as a drug target and how chemical biology can be used to identify and exploit disease-relevant RNA structures. His group’s work combines RNA structure and large-scale screening to define RNA–small molecule recognition principles and to identify ligandable RNA structures across the transcriptome. These approaches enable sequence-based design of small molecules that modulate RNA processing, including strategies that recruit endogenous ribonucleases to selectively degrade disease-causing RNAs. LEARN MORE AT: artsci.tamu.edu/chemistry/about/medals-lectureships/frontiers-lecture-series.html
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Dr. Robert Gilliard (MIT) will present a student-Invited Inorganic Seminar on Wednesday, October 7 @ 11:30 AM in 2104 HCEM titled “Borenium Ions and More: A Coordination Chemistry Approach to the Design of Functional Materials”. Join us!

Seminar Flyer with ATM logo. Abstract text: Recent advances in our laboratory have revealed that cationic boron-containing π-systems can serve as powerful platforms for the design of functional optical and electronic materials. This lecture will explore how the incorporation of boron into conjugated aromatic frameworks, combined with stabilization by strongly donating carbodicarbene ligands, enables access to molecular architectures that were previously considered too reactive for practical applications. Particular emphasis will be placed on the development of air- and photo-stable borenium ions that exhibit highly tunable photophysical properties, including efficient luminescence across the visible and near-infrared spectral regions. The discussion will highlight molecular design strategies that leverage boron-centered cationic character, BN-substitution, π-extension, ligand electronics, and counterion effects to modulate frontier molecular orbitals and narrow optical energy gaps. These approaches provide routes to materials that combine the desirable electronic characteristics of extended acenes and nanographenes with substantially enhanced environmental stability. The role of carbodicarbenes as exceptionally strong donor ligands will be examined as a key enabling factor for stabilizing highly electrophilic boron centers while simultaneously controlling excited-state behavior. Recent discoveries demonstrating thermochromism, aggregation-induced emission, exciton coupling, and counterion-directed ion-pair assembly will be discussed as emerging design principles for stimuli-responsive and emissive materials. If time permits, our latest advances in diazoborane chemistry will also be discussed. A biography with a picture of Prof. Gilliard is also included as a sidebar.
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Dr. Pentzer will host Dr. Karl Scheidt (Northwestern) for an Organic Seminar entitled "Designing Reactivity and Building Complexity through Chemical Synthesis" on Thursday, October 8th at 11:30 in 2104 CHEM. Join us!

Seminar flyer with TAM logo. Abstract text: Catalysis and complex molecule synthesis mutually reinforce discovery: new reactivity enables access to challenging targets, while complex molecules inspire synthetic innovation. This program develops transformations and design principles, from N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysis to total synthesis of bioactive natural products. The first part of this seminar describes single-electron NHC catalysis, which combines carbene catalysis with photoredox activation to transform acyl azolium intermediates into ketyl radicals. These radicals couple with transient open-shell partners, enabling modular synthesis of ketones directly from carboxylic acids. The second part presents the first synthesis and absolute structural determination of secaloside natural products, metabolites isolated from rye pollen with previously unconfirmed stereochemistry. Together, these studies demonstrate how innovative reactivity and strategic synthesis can solve challenging problems in molecular construction.
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Dr. Shiliang Tian (Purdue) will present an inorganic seminar on Wednesday, September 23, at 11:30 am in CHEM 2104. Dr. Tian's seminar is titled “Visualizing Reactive Intermediates: Radical and High-Valent Chemistry Across Biological and Synthetic Catalysis” Join us!

abstract text: Controlling reactive radical and high-Valent metal intermediates is a central challenge in biological and synthetic catalysis. My group combines EPR spectroscopy, cryo-EM, and computational methods to characterize these fleeting species. First, I will show how substrate-triggered conformational changes regulate radical chemistry in adenosytcobalamin-dependent mutases. Cryo-EM and EPR reveal that domain motions gate Co(lll)-C bond homolysis and confine the resulting 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical, enabling efficient catalysis while limiting off-pathway damage. Second, I will describe EPR studies that identify transient Cu(II), Cu(III), Ni(III), and formal Ni(IV) intermediates during catalytic C-C bond formation, supporting radical-mediated oxidative addition and unconventional high-valent redox cycles. Together, these studies reveal shared principles for controlling high-energy chemistry across biological and synthetic systems.
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Dr. Dong Hee Son is hosting a Physical Seminar (Tuesday, September 29th, at 11:30 am in CHEM 2104), featuring Dr. Danielle Hickey (Penn State). Dr. Hickey's seminar is titled “Understanding Atomic Structures and Transformations in Low-Dimensional Materials”. Join us!

Seminar flyer with ATM logo. Abstract text: Many of the fascinating properties of materials can be linked directly to their atomic structures. Therefore, understanding materials at the atomic scale is essential to designing new structures with emergent properties. This seminar will present strategies we are developing to extract information from complex materials, using atomic-resolution imaging and other electron microscopy techniques, coupled with artificial intelligence (Al) methods. In this work, we will highlight how synthetic conditions lead to atomic structures that can be tuned on the basis of atomic-scale understanding. The presentation will focus on several examples, including the analysis of heterogeneities and structural transformations in inorganic nanocrystals, understanding defects in the stacking of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials, and the formation pathway and unique defects in quasi-1D materials.
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Dr. Yi Tang (UCLA) will present a Chemical Biology special seminar on Tuesday, September 29 at 4:00 PM in ILSB Auditorium, Room 1105. The seminar is entitled “ Discovery and Characterization of Natural Product Biosynthetic Pathways”. Join us!

Seminar flyer with ATM logo and abstract text: Natural products (NPs) are compounds that have complex structures and diverse biological activities. The fascinating structures of NPs have served as inspirations for generations of synthetic chemists over the last fifty years, while the biological activities have been harvested for therapeutic and agricultural applications. NPs are biosynthesized by powerful enzymes that perform organic transformations, some of which have no parallel in synthetic chemistry. In this talk, I will present a selection of our work in the identification, characterization and engineering of biosynthetic pathways. I will present the use of different genome mining approaches to identify novel natural product scaffolds and biological activities, as well as discovery and engineering of powerful enzymes for biocatalytic applications.
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