Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty
Vojislava Pophristic, PhD
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Interim Chair, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
v.pophri@usp.edu | 215.596.8551
Dr. Pophristic holds a PhD from Rutgers University. Her research interests include using computers to model taste receptors and metallo-clusters, such as the zirconium-oxo clusters found in oxidized nuclear fuel cell rods, and in antiperspirants.
Adeboye Adejare, PhD *
Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Research Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
a.adejar@usp.edu | 215.596.8944
Dr. Adejare holds a PhD from Ohio State University. His research interests include drug targeting, mechanisms of neurodegeneration, the chemistry of fluoroaromatic compounds, and pharmaceutical profiling.
Catherine M. Bentzley, PhD
Associate Professor of Chemistry
c.bentzl@usp.edu | 215.596.8581
Dr. Bentzley earned her doctorate from the University of Delaware. Her research interests include applications of mass spectrometry to the identification of biologically important molecules.
Edward R. Birnbaum, PhD
Professor of Chemistry
e.birnba@usp.edu | 215.596.8839
Dr. Birnbaum received a PhD from the University of Illinois. His research interests include the use of laser spectroscopy to explore both small and large molecules, such as proteins and inorganic complexes and phosphazene polymer synthesis.
Michael F. Bruist, PhD
Associate Professor of Biochemistry
m.bruist@usp.edu | 215.596.8530
Dr. Bruist holds a doctorate from Cornell University. His research interests focus on how proteins are able to cause the large bends in DNA that control transcription to RNA.
Ara DerMarderosian, PhD *
Professor of Biological Sciences
Research Professor of Pharmacognosy
a.dermar@usp.edu | 215.596.8915
Dr. DerMarderosian earned his PhD from the University of Rhode Island. He is interested in the isolation, identification and characterization of biologically active molecules found in plants, and their use in medicine and as nutraceuticals.
Elisabetta Fasella, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
e.fasell@usp.edu | 215.596.7514
Dr. Fasella holds a doctorate from Columbia University. Her research interests focus on the synthesis of enzyme inhibitors that increase our understanding of metabolism, and which may also lead to potential drug candidate molecules
Alfonso R. Gennaro, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
a.gennar@usp.edu | 215.596.8840
Dr. Gennaro earned his PhD from Temple University. His research interests include analytical drug detection development, drug interactions and free radical initiation of drug decomposition.
Peter J. Harvison, PhD *
Abramson Professor of Pharmacology
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Research Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
p.harvis@usp.edu | 215.596.8979
Dr. Harvison received a PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He studies drug metabolism, HPLC method development, and structure activity/toxicity relationships.
Joel M. Kauffman, PhD
Professor Emeritus
kauffman@hslc.org | 215.596.8839
Dr. Kauffman holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests include the synthesis of new drugs, fluorescent laser dyes, fluorescent stains for microscopy, and exposing fraud in mainstream medicine.
Yumee K. Koo, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
y.koo@usp.edu | 215.596.7546
Dr. Koo earned her doctorate from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her research interests include chemical education and protein interactions
Zhijun Li, PhD
Associate Professor of Bioinformatics
Research Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
z.li@usp.edu | 215.596.7539
Dr. Li holds a doctorate from Vanderbilt University. He performed his postdoctoral work at Vanderbilt and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the field of molecular modeling and proteomics. Dr. Li’s research interests include the development of new tools to aid in the quantitative description of the membrane protein 3D structures currently available in databases, and the construction of protein and protein-complex models designed to help elucidate biological mechanisms.
Madhu Mahalingam, PhD
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Interim Assistant Chair, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
m.mahali@usp.edu | 215.596.7549
Dr. Mahalingam holds a PhD from the State University of New York at Stonybrook. Her research interests include chemical education, mass spectrometry and ion-molecule reactions.
Charles N. McEwen, PhD
R. Everett Houghton Professor of Chemistry
c.mcewen@usp.edu | 215.596.8552
Dr. McEwen holds a PhD from the University of Virginia. The immediate goal of his research program is to develop new ionization methods and integrate them into commercial atmospheric pressure (AP) ion sources making them capable of nearly universal ionization.
James R. Mckee, PhD
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Graduate Program Director for Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacognosy
j.mckee@usp.edu | 215.596.8847
Dr. Mckee earned a doctorate from the University of Maryland. He studies the chemistry of the trihalomethyl group, isonitrile antibiotics and chemical education.
Preston B. Moore, PhD
Professor of Chemistry
Director, West Center for Computational Chemistry and Drug Design
p.moore@usp.edu | 215.596.7537
Dr. Moore received his PhD from Boston University. His research interests include applications of sophisticated computer modeling to understand membrane biochemistry and drug design.
Elisabeth Morlino, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Interim Assistant Chair, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
e.morlin@usp.edu | 215.596.7469
Dr. Morlino earned her doctorate from Bowling Green State University. She is interested in chemical education, photochemistry and photobiology.
Guillermo Moyna, PhD
Associate Professor of Chemistry
g.moyna@usp.edu | 215.596.8526
Dr. Moyna holds a PhD from Texas A&M University. His research interests include biomolecular NMR spectroscopy, computational chemistry, and computer-assisted rational drug design.
John G. Nikelly, PhD
Professor of Chemistry
j.nikell@usp.edu | 215.596.8848
Dr. Nikelly earned a PhD from Cornell University. His research interests include chromatographic methods of analysis, including HPLC, GC, and capillary electrophoresis.
John R. Porter, PhD *
Professor of Biological Sciences
Graduate Program Director, Cell Biology and Biotechnology
Research Professor of Pharmacognosy
j.porter@usp.edu | 215.596.8917
Dr. Porter earned his doctorate from the University of Montana. His research interests are in natural products chemistry, cell biology and plant-microbe interactions.
Frederick T. Schaefer, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
f.schaef@usp.edu | 215.596.8842
Dr. Schaefer holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin. His research interests are chemical education, interfacing computers with instruments, and characterization of macromolecules.
Alexander Sidorenko, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
a.sidorenko@usp.edu | 215.596.8836
Dr. Sidorenko received a PhD from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He studies the synthesis of polymers and biopolymers, the design and modification of thin films, and nanostructured and hybrid (“smart”) materials.
Julian W. Snow, PhD
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
j.snow@usp.edu | 215.596.8837
Dr. Snow earned his PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests focus on the use of microcalormetry to investigate small molecule, protein, and membrane interactions.
Charles J. Thoman, PhD
Professor Emeritus
c.thoman@usp.edu | 215.596.8839
Dr. Thoman holds a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts. His research interests lie in the chemistry of sydnones and their derivatives, the chemistry and biochemistry of Polysorbate 80, and the synthesis of potential anticancer/antiviral drugs.
Nathan M. West, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry
n.west@usp.edu
Dr. West received a BS and PhD from University of North Carolina.
Rodney J. Wigent, PhD
Professor of Chemistry
Dean, College of Graduate Studies
r.wigent@usp.edu | 215.596.8974
Dr. Wigent earned a PhD from Michigan Technological University. His research is focused on how inert excipients modify the bioavailability of drugs administered for treatment of disease.
Murray Zanger, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
m.zanger@usp.edu | 215.596.8838
Dr. Zanger holds a PhD from the University of Kansas. He is is interested inorganic synthesis of molecules that may be sources of new drugs, and their characterization through nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).
Randy J. Zauhar, PhD
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Director, Graduate Program in Bioinformatics
r.zauhar@usp.edu | 215.596.8691
Dr. Zauhar received a PhD from Pennsylvania State University. His research interests include bioinformatics and computer modeling of drug-receptor interactions.
*Faculty in the Graduate Program of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry whose primary appointment is in another department.