Summary of Research Project:

Using chemical modification of the compounds found in cannabis, we can improve treatments for autoimmune, inflammatory diseases, and more; All while maintaining the inherent safety of cannabinoid compounds. My role is to test how the chemical modifications affect cellular outcomes in the immune system. Ultimately, this work contributes to advancing drug discovery and enhancing public health.

Background/Training:

I received my B.S. in Biology from Utica University and PhD in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology from University of Pittsburgh. Following this, I pursued a NIH-K12 post-doctoral fellowship at University of Pennsylvania’s Penn-PORT program. This was a unique experience in which I received mentored teaching and research experiences. With a background as a T cell immunologist studying mechanisms of immune exhaustion and immunodeficiency, I am currently interested in cannabinoids as they have potential to modulate the immune response.

Student Involvement in Research:

Undergraduates are a critical part of the work I do. They not only do the cell culture and maintenance, but they also conceptualize, conduct, and analyze their own experiments. I involve my undergraduates in journal clubs and lab meetings not only for their training, but because they are scientists with a diverse perspective to offer. I take immense pride in training them for any science career they pursue.

Current Collaborations:

Dr. Mark Scialdone (Organic Chemist) Dr. Andrew Korich (Organic Chemist)

Potential Impact of your Research on Human Health and Beyond:

This research addresses the urgent need for cannabinoid-based therapeutics with minimal immunosuppressive side effects. By developing novel derivatives, we can improve treatments for autoimmune, inflammatory diseases, and more; All while maintaining the inherent safety of cannabinoid compounds. Ultimately, this work contributes to advancing drug discovery and enhancing public health.

Summary of Research Project:

We are interested in understanding the bacteria-host interaction in the mouth that drives inflammation during periodontal disease. Specifically, we want to look at this interaction at a molecular level to see which small molecules these oral microbes produce in the mouth, and then determine the main drivers of gum inflammation. To do so, we will leverage mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and a human gum cell line, to study this interaction in a simplified model.

Background/Training:

I started my career at the University of Notre Dame with a double major in chemistry and philosophy. I then completed my PhD in Chemistry at Vanderbilt University in 2022, co-advised between a biochemistry lab and a bacteriology group, studying the gut pathogen C. difficile. I then pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University studying microbial-derived metabolites of the gut microbiome, before starting my independent career at Middlebury College in 2024.

Student Involvement in Research:

All work in the lab is driven by student work, from sample preparation and growth, data collection on the instruments, to data analysis. Currently I have 8 undergraduate students of different years working within the lab on various projects spanning mass spectrometry, bacterial work, and cell culture.

Current Collaborations:

We currently work with the Stratton Lab at Middlebury College for analysis of untargeted metabolomics data, and the Solhaug also at Middlebury for metabolomics of plant nectar samples. We are initiating a collaboration with the Zeytuni Lab at McGill University this summer to apply our cell culture model to look at genetically modified strains of oral bacteria and their pathogenesis impact.

Potential Impact of your Research on Human Health and Beyond:

We aim to understand the disease drivers of periodontal disease from a molecular perspective, to open up novel avenues for diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. As oral health is a great unmet health need globally, this shift could offer most cost-effective diagnostics and treatments based on metabolic information, and better aid the international dental community in meeting those in the most need.

Summary of Research Project:

This exploratory application seeks to support the development and implementation of an undergraduate-based laboratory experience using NexGen sequencing, a technology which has quickly become a front-line tool in clinical diagnostics and criminal investigations. Students will gain hands-on experience with the important processes involved in the generation of this DNA evidence while also learning about lab management and assay design. The course is structured for students to design a research question during the semester that can be examined using this sequencing technology.

Background/Training:

I received my Ph.D. in Genetic Toxicology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studying mutational spectra in human cells and followed that with a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Webster Cavenee studying pediatric cancer genetics. Since 1991, I pursued my own academic research lab focused on the isolation and characterization of novel genetic biomarkers/tumor suppressor genes for lung, breast and brain tumors. In 2009, I joined the Baylor College of Medicine’s Human Genome Sequencing Center in Houston TX and served as Senior Manager of the Library Core and Capture groups where my responsibilities included overall management and direction of library construction for four sequencing platforms as well as direction of technical development. Following this, I moved on to educate and train molecular clinical diagnostic technologists as Associate Professor and Associate Program Director of the Molecular Genetic Technology program in the School of Health Professions at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. In 2022, I had the opportunity to move back to my home state of Vermont and join Norwich University’s Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry to teach forensics and bring more advanced molecular training to the Norwich student experience.

Student Involvement in Research:

I am supporting students who want to add molecular technology to their research projects or wish to have more lab-based experience with these technologies.

Current Collaborations:

I am supporting faculty and students who want to add molecular technology to their research projects.

Potential Impact of your Research on Human Health and Beyond:

Many molecular techniques including NexGen sequencing are now mainstays in the study of all things related to human health and disease. Students graduating with hands-on working knowledge of these current state-of-the-art molecular technologies are more prepared to enter the sciences and make an impact on the health and well-being of the human population.

Summary of Research Project:

We develop new sensors that can detect and quantify more than one substance at the same time-- think of a sensor like a glucometer (or blood glucose meter) that can measure several useful substances simultaneously. Currently, we are developing these sensors to quantify cancer biomarkers. Our goal is to design these sensors to be inexpensive, sensitive, quantitative, fast, and relatively easy-to-operate.

Background/Training:

I started college at Concordia College in Moorhead, where I got a B.A. with a double major in ACS Chemistry and Mathematics. I really enjoyed the quantitative nature of analytical chemistry, so I pursued a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Iowa State University with Prof. Robbyn Anand, which I successfully defended in 2022. During my graduate work, I made new electrochemical sensors on microfluidic platforms, which are devices that control fluid flow on the micron-scale. I became interested in inexpensive, easy-to-use electrochemical microfluidic sensors that could be brought to the source of the sample to yield a quantitative result, so during my post-doctoral studies at Colorado State University with Prof. Charles Henry, I developed a sensing mechanism to quantify the immune response of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies that could be completed in a primary care physician’s office. I began my career as a PI at Middlebury College in 2024 in the Department of Chemistry.

Student Involvement in Research:

Middlebury College students have been involved with designing devices, experiments, and collecting and interpreting data. Eight students have worked on the project in some form thus far: Jasper Pearcy-Kahn ’26 Athena Antippas ’26 Edith Mauch ’27 Kieran Cross ’27 Christopher Clyne ’27 Theodora Bacchus ’27 Sophie Mathewson ’28 Maddie Raymond ’28

Current Collaborations:

None

Potential Impact of your Research on Human Health and Beyond:

Cancer is one of the top causes of death worldwide, even though many types can be cured if early detection and effective treatments are available. Existing methods that screen for molecules in blood that are indicative of cancer are expensive, time-consuming, and complicated to perform, making them not widely accessible. With our research, we are working to develop an inexpensive and sensitive test that can be performed at a primary-care physician’s office to screen for several cancer-indicating molecules simultaneously.

Summary of Research Project:

During this VBRN Pilot Award, we have explored the synthesis, purification and analytical characterization of new classes of chemically modified derivatives of phytocannabinoids. These new compounds are being investigated for their biological activity to treat cancer and autoimmune disorders such as HIV. The most active compounds synthesized from this research are currently being screened in the Developmental Therapeutics Program at the National Cancer Institute in Germantown, MD.

Background/Training:

I am a synthetic organic chemist with more than four decades of research experience including more than thirty years of industrial research. My expertise specializes in natural product chemistry including plant oil extraction, analysis, and chemical modification. I hold Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Chemistry from Michigan Technological University, a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemistry from Wayne State University and was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Colorado State University. I am the inventor of 37 issued US patents and have authored 17 publications in the peer-reviewed scientific literature and have given numerous invited lectures at more than 40 different academic institutions and international symposia.

Student Involvement in Research:

I have trained three undergraduate students in my laboratory during this period of funding. Each student has been involved in the chemical synthesis, purification and analytical characterization of target compounds. Two are graduating with chemistry majors this semester, one is going to graduate school in chemistry, and one is going to medical school. The other student is in their sophomore year and currently doing a rotation in Professor Avery’s lab, also currently funded with a connected VBRN Pilot Award, conducting biological assays.

Current Collaborations:

We currently are collaborating with Professor Lyndsay Avery’s group (SMC Biology) on the biological assessment of our compounds. I am also collaborating with Professor Allyn Howlett (Wake Forest Medical School), a world recognized expert in cannabinoid receptor biology and leader in the field, who is mentoring Lyndsay on neuronal cell signaling assays for chemical derivatives and participates in a weekly journal review with us. Professor Avery will present the findings of our research at CannMed 2026 in Lake Tahoe this June.

Potential Impact of your Research on Human Health and Beyond:

The impact of this research on human health and beyond will be in the development of new therapeutic agents that are safe and effective to treat cancer and autoimmune disorders such as HIV while minimizing toxic side effects. The student researchers involved will learn and develop their scientific skills by participating in this multidisciplinary project at the interface of chemistry and biology that provides them with the ability to contribute to society at large as experts in modern drug discovery. During the current funding of the VBRN 2025 Pilot Awards for Professor Avery and myself, the results generated are promising and have been included as preliminary results in both a joint VBRN 2026 Project Award Application as well as an NIH R15 Area Grant Application submitted in February.