New in 2021-2022: all students should use the Chemistry department's Research Application Form to apply to the labs below!
*Last updated February 2020
Chemistry Department
Faculty Research Information
Spring 2020
Wei Chen’s group works on research projects in the areas of materials engineering and surface chemistry. We use multidisciplinary tools from physical, analytical, and organic chemistry to address relevant issues, such as wetting, adhesion and biocompatibility.
Interested in learning more or joining the lab?
We welcome committed and capable (bio)chemistry majors in their sophomore years to join the research team.
Interested first and second year students are encouraged to visit the research group webpage https://sites.google.com/mtholyoke.edu/weichen/ and to email Professor Chen (weichen@mtholyoke.edu).
Katie Berry’s research group asks questions at the interface of biochemistry and bacterial molecular genetics. We study the molecular mechanisms of bacterial regulatory RNAs and their protein chaperones. With a newly developed genetic assay to detect protein-RNA interactions inside of living bacterial cells, we can study the effects of point mutations on RNA-protein interactions and conduct unbiased screens to find mutations that alter RNA-protein binding, or even to identify novel RNA chaperone proteins!
Interested in learning more or joining the lab?
Visit tinyurl.com/berrylab to read more about our work.
You can fill out the google form there to share your interest in research and follow up by email (kberry@mtholyoke.edu) for a time to meet.
Students often join the lab in their sophomore year (typically as they take Bio 230) and spend at least one summer at MHC in the lab. It’s never too early to be in touch about your interest!
Katie McMenimen’s research group is interested in questions broadly related to protein-protein interactions. We use many tools from biochemistry, chemistry, molecular biology, and materials chemistry to probe fundamental questions about the structure and function of proteins, focusing on proteins involved in aggregation diseases. Students in our research group have backgrounds in chemistry, biochemistry, and neuroscience.
Interested in learning more or joining the lab?
We welcome interested students to contact Katie via email (kamcmeni@mtholyoke.edu) to get more information about the group
Students often join during their sophomore year and plan to stay for at least one summer during their time at MHC
Get in touch sooner rather than later! We welcome all experience levels and interests!
Maria Gomez’s research group focuses on finding conduction pathways in a variety of systems. We use ideas from thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, classical mechanics, and quantum mechanics in our work. Our research also entails using and developing mathematical ideas within physical contexts.
Interested in learning more or joining the lab?
Visit the our website to learn more about us.
Interested students are invited to email Maria at magomez@mtholyoke.edu noting their interest and review the group video. All students begin with Chem 348 or Chem 328/Phys 328 which requires any chemistry or physics or computer science class and calculus II.
Students should have an interest in using physics and mathematics to understand chemistry using computational tools.
Alan van Giessen’s research group focuses on using molecular simulation to determine the factors that affect the stability of proteins in the dense cellular environment. We have two main directions to our work. Firstly, we are interested in how protein-protein interactions, both through direct intermolecular interactions and through excluded volume effects, affect the thermal and thermodynamic stability of a given protein. Secondly, we are concerned with the phenomenon of cold denaturation, when a protein spontaneously denatures at cold temperatures, and how the crowded cellular environment prevents this from happening in living organisms.
Interested in learning more or joining the lab?
Contact Alan at vangiess@mtholyoke.edu
Students only need Chem 201 as a requirement for joining the lab.
Coding skills are a plus, but not mandatory.
Kyle Broaders’ research group is focused on the interface of polymeric materials and living cells. He and his group use techniques from organic, polymer, and materials chemistry to make polymeric materials that respond to or influence the behavior of biological entities. Applications of our work include immunotherapy, drug delivery, biosensors, and the study of cellular adhesion.
Interested in learning more or joining the lab?
Visit https://broaders.science/ to read more about our work
Contact Kyle by email (broaders@mtholyoke.edu) to learn more.
Students at all levels are invited to apply, but experience with organic chemistry is preferred.