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Dr. Lourdes Alemán MIT graduate student (’08) in Prof. Phil Sharp’s Lab

Lourdes Alemán’s Personal Story

“My father’s perseverance in getting my family out of Cuba continues to motivate me as a scientist.”

Lourdes Alemán’s Personal Story

Quote

“My father’s perseverance in getting my family out of Cuba continues to motivate me as a scientist.”

Description

Lourdes, a Cuban-American, shares her greatest source of inspiration throughout her journey to becoming a scientist, a story of her father’s remarkable perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity.

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Treating Diseases By Using RNAi Technology

Hydrogen bonding, Bond strengths, Thermodynamics
Treating Diseases By Using RNAi Technology

SubTopics

Hydrogen bonding, Bond strengths, Thermodynamics

Featured Scientists

Dr. Lourdes Alemán MIT graduate student ’08 in Prof. Phil Sharp’s Lab

Description

RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in which small pieces of silencing RNA (siRNA) bind to cellular RNA, thereby shutting down the production of the encoded protein. Lourdes discusses how understanding hydrogen bonding and bond strengths is essential to her research on RNAi, and how scientists hope to apply RNAi technology in designing treatments for a wide variety of diseases.

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Nozomi Ando Former MIT postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Nozomi Ando’s Personal Story

“Training to be a scientist is like training to be a ninja.”

Nozomi Ando’s Personal Story

Quote

“Training to be a scientist is like training to be a ninja.”

Description

Nozomi, a self-described artist and comic book lover, describes how her training to become a scientist was akin to that of a ninja. Like a ninja apprenticeship, expert scientists have worked with her at every stage of her career to show her the way of the scientist.

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Understanding Chemotherapeutic Drug Targets

Equilibrium
Understanding Chemotherapeutic Drug Targets

SubTopics

Equilibrium

Featured Scientists

Nozomi Ando MIT postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Description

Nozomi conducts research on a protein that is essential for DNA synthesis, repair, and replication. She explains how this protein is in equilibrium between an active and an inactive form, and how discovering strategies to lock the protein in the inactive conformation could lead to treatments for cancer and/or could be used in the creation of new antibiotics.

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Sarah Bowman MIT postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Sarah Bowman’s Personal Story

“My first college degree was in English, and I worked in a successful bookstore before becoming a chemist.”

Sarah Bowman’s Personal Story

Quote

“My first college degree was in English, and I worked in a successful bookstore before becoming a chemist.”

Description

Sarah shares how she “changed her mind” about careers after completing her first bachelors degree in the humanities and taking a chemistry class that opened her eyes to the wonders of atoms and molecules. She urges people to pursue what they want to do, regardless of age.

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Targeting Ulcer Causing H. pylori Bacteria

Acids, Buffers, Transition Metals, Nickel
Targeting Ulcer Causing H. pylori Bacteria

SubTopics

Acids, Buffers, Transition Metals, Nickel

Featured Scientists

Sarah Bowman MIT postdoctoral researcher (‘10-‘12) in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Description

Sarah studies a protein from a pathogenic bacterium that is found in the stomach and is known to cause ulcers. She explains how the bacterium survives in the low pH environment of the stomach by using a nickel-dependent protein to buffer the acidity of its environment. Sarah envisions that taking advantage of this nickel requirement could lead to a new treatment for ulcers.

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Catherine L. Drennan HHMI Professor and Investigator, Professor of Chemistry and Biology, MIT

Catherine L. Drennan’s Personal Story

“My dyslexia was so severe that I wasn’t supposed to be able to graduate high school.”

Catherine L. Drennan’s Personal Story

Quote

“My dyslexia was so severe that I wasn’t supposed to be able to graduate high school.”

Description

Cathy explains how her dyslexia, and other people’s low expectations of her because of it, have not prevented her from excelling in science and becoming a full professor at MIT. In fact, her “disability” has given her a unique set of visualization skills that allow her to better understand protein shapes and how they fit together.

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Exploring The Molecular World with X-Ray Diffraction

Diffraction, constructive and destructive interference, photon energy versus photon intensity
Exploring The Molecular World with X-Ray Diffraction

SubTopics

Diffraction, constructive and destructive interference, photon energy versus photon intensity

Featured Scientists

Catherine L. Drennan HHMI Professor and Investigator, Professor of Chemistry and Biology, MIT

Description

Cathy explains how she and her lab apply the principles of constructive/destructive interference, and other characteristics of light (including energy, frequency, and intensity) in their research using X-ray crystallography to determine the three-dimensional shape of proteins. Cathy’s lab captures “snapshots” of proteins in action with a focus on proteins with medical or energy/environment-related applications.

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John Essigmann William R. and Betsy P. Leitch Professor of Chemistry, Toxicology and Biological Engineering

John Essigmann’s Personal Story

“My first job was analyzing poop… and I thought it was the greatest job in the world.”

John Essigmann’s Personal Story

Quote

“My first job was analyzing poop… and I thought it was the greatest job in the world.”

Description

John describes how an early industry experience doing real science pushed him to pursue a career as a professor and professional scientist. He also realizes that the Scientific Method is a framework that can be applied to better understanding questions in the real world.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Linking Oxidation To DNA Damage

Properties of Oxygen, Oxidation
Linking Oxidation To DNA Damage

SubTopics

Properties of Oxygen, Oxidation

Featured Scientists

John Essigmann William R. and Betsy P. Leitch Professor of Chemistry, Toxicology and Biological Engineering

Description

John describes how oxidation reactions in our bodies are both essential for life and responsible for cell damage that can potentially lead to cancer. John’s research focuses on studying how cells respond to toxins that cause oxidative damage to DNA.

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Hector Hernandez MIT postdoctoral researcher (’08-‘11) in Prof. Janelle Thompson’s Lab

Hector Hernandez’s Personal Story

“I found the same feeling of community in my scientific career that I have always valued in my extended family.”

Hector Hernandez’s Personal Story

Quote

“I found the same feeling of community in my scientific career that I have always valued in my extended family.”

Description

Hector initially worked in construction, but at age 29, he realized he wanted to use his mind instead of his back in his career. With the help of a key-mentor at a community college, he started studying chemistry, a subject that allowed him to apply his mechanical training and introduced him to colleagues who have become like family.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Harnessing Microbes For Carbon Dioxide Sequestration

Gas solubility, Le Chatelier’s Principle
Harnessing Microbes For Carbon Dioxide Sequestration

SubTopics

Gas solubility, Le Chatelier’s Principle

Featured Scientists

Hector Hernandez MIT postdoctoral researcher (’08-‘11)) in Janelle Thompson’s Lab

Description

Hector describes how Le Chatelier’s principle and the effects of pressure on solubility relate to his research on harnessing microbes to remove carbon dioxide from the environment. Hector envisions that his research could someday be used to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

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Kateryna Kozyrytska MIT undergraduate student ('12) in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Kateryna Kozyrytska’s Personal Story

“I came to US because I felt like I could have a career in science.”

Kateryna Kozyrytska’s Personal Story

Quote

“I came to US because I felt like I could have a career in science.”

Description

Kateryna, a female biochemist born in Ukraine, describes how as a scientist she doesn’t have to choose between career and home-life like some of her peers back home, that there are examples, even at MIT, of women who have both.Search

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Applying the Special Properties of Halogens in Drug Design

Chlorine, Electronegativity
Applying the Special Properties of Halogens in Drug Design

SubTopics

Chlorine, Electronegativity

Featured Scientists

Applying the Special Properties of Halogens in Drug Design MIT undergraduate student ('12) in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Description

Bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics, creating a need for current and future scientists to develop new types on antibiotics. Kateryna discusses her research on proteins that catalyze a carbon-chlorine bond-forming reaction, and she describes how taking advantage of chlorine’s electronegativity may lead to new medications to fight bacteria and the other “bugs” that make us sick.

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Jingnan Lu MIT graduate student ('14) in Prof. Anthony Sinskey’s Lab

Jingnan Lu’s Personal Story

“Chemistry didn’t interest me until I realized I could apply chemistry research to help others.”

Jingnan Lu’s Personal Story

Quote

“Chemistry didn’t interest me until I realized I could apply chemistry research to help others.”

Description

Jingnan describes how she overcame the challenge of learning English as a teenager when she moved to the United States from China and realized from a research experience that she can use science to help people.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Engineering Enzyme Pathways For Biofuel Development

Kinetics, Enzyme Catalysis
Engineering Enzyme Pathways For Biofuel Development

SubTopics

Kinetics, Enzyme Catalysis

Featured Scientists

Jingnan Lu Current MIT graduate student in Prof. Anthony Sinskey’s Lab

Description

Jingnan research focuses on converting carbon dioxide, an environmental pollutant, into biofuel. Jingnan explains how she engineers a carbon-storing microorganism into a biofuel production pathway. She discusses kinetic parameters she is able to change, such as using a more efficient enzyme (a catalyst) and increasing substrate concentration to speed up the production of biofuels.

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Benjamin Ofori-Okai MIT graduate student in Prof. Christian Degen’s Lab

Benjamin Ofori-Okai’s Personal Story

“There will be times when you’ll think you can’t do this… but you can. Just work hard and have fun.”

Benjamin Ofori-Okai’s Personal Story

Quote

“There will be times when you’ll think you can’t do this… but you can. Just work hard and have fun.”

Description

Ben describes his realization that his love of problem-solving in math class could have an application in chemistry research. He urges anyone intimidated by science to give it another shot because it can be a lot of fun.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Imaging Viruses With Nanoscale MRI

Atomic energy levels, degeneracy
Imaging Viruses With Nanoscale MRI

SubTopics

Atomic energy levels, degeneracy

Featured Scientists

Benjamin Ofori-Okai MIT graduate student in Prof. Christian Degen’s Lab

Description

Ben discusses the concept of orbital degeneracy (two orbitals with the same energy) in relation to his research on nanoscale MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Specifically, he explains how energy level differences detected with nanoscale MRI can lead to the generation of three-dimensional images of biological molecules, such as proteins and viruses.

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Stefanie Sydlik MIT graduate student (’12) in Prof. Tim Swager’s Lab

Stefanie Sydlik’s Personal Story

“I always knew that I wanted to be a chemist.”

Stefanie Sydlik’s Personal Story

Quote

“I always knew that I wanted to be a chemist.”

Description

Stefanie describes how an exciting “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” convinced her to become a chemist. She considers chemistry to be a bridge between biology and physics that can help explain observations made in everyday life.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Detecting Explosives To Save Lives In War Zone

VSEPR theory, Geometry of Molecules
Detecting Explosives To Save Lives In War Zone

SubTopics

VSEPR theory, Geometry of Molecules

Featured Scientists

Stefanie Sydlik MIT graduate student ’12 in Prof. Tim Swager’s Lab

Description

Stefanie explains how her research on designing sensors for explosives depends on the principles of VSEPR (valence shell electron pair repulsion) theory. Stefanie’s sensor design amplifies small-scale changes in bond angles following interaction with a target molecule, and she hopes that her work will lead to better detectors for landmines and improvised explosive devices.

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Samuel Thompson MIT undergraduate student ('13) in Prof. Alice Ting’s Lab

Samuel Thompson’s Personal Story

“Chemistry is an art form… it’s all about your perspective.”

Samuel Thompson’s Personal Story

Quote

“Chemistry is an art form… it’s all about your perspective.”

Description

Samuel brings a sense of play to his science research that he traces back to his love of the performing arts and his early exposure to science as a child. He also relates that his identity as a gay-man from a conservative Southern town helped shape him into a scientist.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Designing Probes To Image Proteins Inside Living Cells

pH and pKa, Equilibrium
Designing Probes To Image Proteins Inside Living Cells

SubTopics

pH and pKa, Equilibrium

Featured Scientists

Samuel Thompson MIT undergraduate student in Prof. Alice Ting’s Lab

Description

Samuel discusses his research on designing new tools to track the movement of proteins within cells. He explains how understanding the relationship between pKa and pH was critical for the design of a new sensor, which he hopes can be used to image proteins in diseased cells.

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Darcy Wanger MIT Graduate Student ('14) in Prof. Moungi Bawendi’s Lab

Darcy Wanger’s Personal Story

“I thought science was done—past tense—by a bunch of old white guys. I was wrong.”

Darcy Wanger’s Personal Story

Quote

“I thought science was done—past tense—by a bunch of old white guys. I was wrong.”

Description

Darcy describes her realization that science is not something “done—in the past tense” by people long ago, but rather an exciting pursuit that requires social interactions to solve current real-world questions.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Labeling Tumors With Quantum Dots

Atomic energy levels, Energy of emitted light, Relationship between photon energy and color
Labeling Tumors With Quantum Dots

SubTopics

Atomic energy levels, Energy of emitted light, Relationship between photon energy and color

Featured Scientists

Darcy Wanger Current MIT Graduate Student in Prof. Moungi Bawendi’s Lab

Description

Quantum dots are tiny semiconductor crystals with vivid colors that can be used as visual labels in biology and medicine. Quantum dots excited by UV radiation emit light with an energy and color that is determined by the size of the quantum dot. Darcy describes how the characteristics of atomic energy levels relate to the color of quantum dots, and how quantum dots may someday be used as markers in surgical procedures.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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Dr. Lourdes Alemán MIT graduate student (’08) in Prof. Phil Sharp’s Lab

Lourdes Alemán’s Personal Story

Treating Diseases By Using RNAi Technology

Nozomi Ando Former MIT postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Nozomi Ando’s Personal Story

Understanding Chemotherapeutic Drug Targets

Sarah Bowman MIT postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Sarah Bowman’s Personal Story

Targeting Ulcer Causing H. pylori Bacteria

Catherine L. Drennan HHMI Professor and Investigator, Professor of Chemistry and Biology, MIT

Catherine L. Drennan’s Personal Story

Exploring The Molecular World with X-Ray Diffraction

John Essigmann William R. and Betsy P. Leitch Professor of Chemistry, Toxicology and Biological Engineering

John Essigmann’s Personal Story

Linking Oxidation To DNA Damage

Hector Hernandez MIT postdoctoral researcher (’08-‘11) in Prof. Janelle Thompson’s Lab

Hector Hernandez’s Personal Story

Harnessing Microbes For Carbon Dioxide Sequestration

Kateryna Kozyrytska MIT undergraduate student ('12) in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s Lab

Kateryna Kozyrytska’s Personal Story

Applying the Special Properties of Halogens in Drug Design

Jingnan Lu MIT graduate student ('14) in Prof. Anthony Sinskey’s Lab

Jingnan Lu’s Personal Story

Engineering Enzyme Pathways For Biofuel Development

Benjamin Ofori-Okai MIT graduate student in Prof. Christian Degen’s Lab

Benjamin Ofori-Okai’s Personal Story

Imaging Viruses With Nanoscale MRI

Stefanie Sydlik MIT graduate student (’12) in Prof. Tim Swager’s Lab

Stefanie Sydlik’s Personal Story

Detecting Explosives To Save Lives In War Zone

Samuel Thompson MIT undergraduate student ('13) in Prof. Alice Ting’s Lab

Samuel Thompson’s Personal Story

Designing Probes To Image Proteins Inside Living Cells

Darcy Wanger MIT Graduate Student ('14) in Prof. Moungi Bawendi’s Lab

Darcy Wanger’s Personal Story

Labeling Tumors With Quantum Dots