Judy Amburgey-Peters, associate professor of chemistry at The College of Wooster, will reveal the creative side of science when she presents “Designer Molecules: Modeling Mother Nature” at the final Faculty at Large lecture of the fall semester on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 11 a.m. in Room 009 of Severance (Chemistry) Hall (943 College Mall). Admission is free and open to the public.
Amburgey-Peters will discuss the basics of the synthesis of organic molecules and their use in fundamental research and medicine. She will also provide an overview of the design and implementation process carried out by synthetic organic chemists, describing some of the many applications of molecules in the study of natural biological processes and the potential for medicinal applications. In addition, she will discuss two ongoing projects involving College of Wooster students. One requires the preparation of a class of compounds to model the interaction of proteins and membrane surfaces in a range of biological systems. The other is a collaborative effort with Robert W. Curley, Jr. from The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy to develop a Vitamin A-related molecule that has shown activity against breast tumors in mice.
“Synthesis is both an art and a science,” she said. “The overarching goal is to make the target compound in reasonable yield, but also with a reasonable investment of time and money. We have the capability to make virtually any desired molecule, which can then be used to study a more complicated system or serve some direct application. However, we are also increasingly aware of the need for responsible synthesis in terms of the materials produced and the resources invested.”
Amburgey-Peters, who joined Wooster’s faculty in 1996, received her B.S., summa cum laude, from Georgetown College (1988) and her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (1993). She specializes in organic chemistry, NMR spectroscopy, and protein-membrane interactions, and has a broad base of research experience from her work as an industrial research scientist and as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland-Baltimore. She is active in science outreach programs, including the Flinn Scientific Summer Workshop for High School Chemistry Teachers. She also serves as program director for Wooster’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Award.