The Caputo Lab
Students in the Caputo lab are exposed to biochemical, biophysical, and microbiological methods. Depending on the student interest, they could be a part of several ongoing projects including antimicrobial peptide characterization, stability and folding of proteins in the presence of ionic liquids, or the effects of materials composition on antimicrobial activity of thin-film coatings. Students will be exposed to techniques such as absorbance & fluorescence spectroscopy, HPLC, FPLC, ICP-MS, basic microbiology methods including sterile technique, and data analysis. Students can work in either 5- or 10-week formats. The Caputo lab has an established record of mentoring students from RCSJ and other community colleges, with county college transfer students appearing as co-authors on 11 publications in the last 5 years.
Caputo Lab Website: https://users.rowan.edu/~caputo/index.html
The Grinias Lab
Research in the Grinias Lab focuses on the development of chromatographic separation techniques for the analysis of complex samples. Specifically, ongoing work is related to the miniaturization of HPLC instrumentation for remote operation. Students working on these projects would be trained in analytical sample preparation, HPLC system operation, chromatographic data analysis, and reporting of analytical results.
Grinias Lab Website: https://sites.google.com/view/griniasresearchlab/home
The Hoy Lab
Silicon-based electronic devices are fast approaching their practical limits, threatening the continual improvements in computing power which the electronics industry relies on. A particularly promising class of replacement devices are all-carbon single-molecule junction devices. These devices can be made entirely from common heavy oil by-products offering a new value-added use for these previously underutilized, high pollution waste products. In this project, we will use these improved theoretical models determine the charge transport characteristics of molecular electronics created from heavy-oil derivatives and investigate the novel quantum effects that such devices often display.
Students will perform quantum chemistry calculations of heavy-oil derivatives and corresponding nano electronic devices, determine their conductance and charge transport characteristics, and identify novel quantum charge transport behaviors. Students will gain experience in computational quantum chemistry, charge transport, high-performance computing, data analysis, the Linux operating system, and Python scripting.
Hoy Lab Website: https://sites.google.com/view/rowanquantumchem/home
The Liu Lab
We develop and apply computational methods to gain molecular insight into mechanisms of chemical reactions, to obtain structural and dynamical properties of biological/biomedical and foldamer (biomimetic or other novel scaffold) systems. Our long-term goal is to apply the scientific discoveries in the invention of new therapeutics or novel material.
Students will be trained to gain skills in a variety of molecular modeling and visualization software and computational chemistry methods, such as using Gaussian to carry out ab initio and density functional calculations, using AMBER to carry out molecular dynamics simulation, using VMD to create meaningful visual representations of complex systems such as protein, DNA, polymers etc. More importantly, student will also learn the scientific foundation of these skills and be able to analyze calculation data to generate meaningful results that provide insight into mechanisms of chemical and biological processes
The Lu Lab
Research in the Lu Lab focuses on the synthesis and development of polymer drug delivery systems and the advancement of materials chemistry for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. With a comprehensive background in materials chemistry, physics, and engineering, my lab specializes in nanomaterials synthesis, electrospinning for materials processing, and the development of biopolymers and smart drug delivery systems, among other areas.
Students training in my lab will acquire hands-on experience in advanced synthesis techniques, learn critical analytical skills through the use of sophisticated materials characterization instruments such as SPM, SEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, and ICP-MS, and develop a deep understanding of the application of materials science in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This training will encompass both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, equipping students with a well-rounded perspective in materials chemistry.
Lu Lab Website: https://www.luslab.com/
The Moura-Letts Lab
The Moura-Letts laboratory aims to discover new chemical reaction pathways for the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant molecules. These research efforts focus on achieving molecular complexity by transforming easily accessible molecules through heterofunctionalization reactions that then enable them to undergo unprecedented transformations. This work has led to the discovery of novel pathways for the synthesis of diaziridines, tetrasubstituted pyrazoles, triazoles, isoxazolidines, aziridines, benzisoxazoles, oxaziridines, and carbacycles. This type of research allows students to learn the design, set-up, analysis, and characterization of organic reactions.
Moura-Letts Lab Website: https://www.gmlresearchgroup.com/
The Quarels Lab
The Quarels Lab focuses on the development of new synthetic methodologies and the synthesis of biologically relevant natural products and derivatives as potential therapeutics. An area of interest is the development of unnatural glycopeptides with antimicrobial activity. We are studying the composition of natural and unnatural amino acids in linear peptide precursors to antibiotics. Another area of intense focus is on studying the effects of fluorination on morphine derivatives. Our aim is to improve drug efficacy while potentially reducing dependence.
Quarels-Allen Lab Website: https://sites.google.com/rowan.edu/quarelschemistry/home
The Wu Lab
In Wu’s lab, students will explore the evolution of deadly viruses like HIV, Zika, and Ebola using bioinformatics and molecular modeling tools. They will analyze public sequence datasets to detect adaptive mutations, perform virtual screening to identify antiviral drug candidates, and design experiments to test their effectiveness. Additionally, students will use computational methods to predict potential vaccine targets and develop experimental approaches for validation. Through hands-on experience in virus evolution, drug discovery, and vaccine development, students will gain valuable skills applicable to biomedical research, pharmaceuticals, and public health.
Wu Lab Website:https://users.rowan.edu/~wuc/