Email: John.Wahlert@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6253
Location: Room 506C, 17 Lexington Ave.

John H. Wahlert, Ph.D., Harvard University (Vertebrate Paleontology), is a paleontologist who investigates the interrelationships of rodents based chiefly on cranial anatomy. His articles are published in American Museum Novitates and elsewhere. Research is carried out in the Mammalogy and the Vertebrate Paleontology Departments at the American Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Wahlert has arranged for students to conduct honors research there under his direction at the Museum. Dr. Wahlert served for six years as Chair of the Natural Sciences Department and for three years as Chair of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences Personnel and Budget Committee.

Professor Wahlert is a member of the CUNY Graduate Faculty in Biology—specialization in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior (EEB). He teaches a graduate course on Mammalogy and compiled a bibliography of classic works on mammals, which is available on the Museum of Natural History web site. He is also a Resource Faculty member of the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology.

Research

“My research investigation into the relationships of living and extinct rodents began when I was an undergraduate at Amherst College and wrote an Honors Thesis on the microstructure of incisor enamel in fossil rodents. I shifted my focus to the examination of cranial foramina (holes in the skull) for my Ph.D. thesis. My most influential publication was a portion of my dissertation published by the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, in 1974. In this paper, I built on the work of others to establish a nomenclature for the description of cranial foramina in the most primitive rodents. The latest publication in this series concerns the ear bone of an early fossil rodent from North America.”

On a humorous note, an extinct beaver, Palaeocastor wahlerti, was recently described and named by Dr. William Korth.

Sample Publications

Wahlert, John H. 2000.

Morphology of the auditory region in Paramys copei and other Eocene rodents from North America. Amer. Mus. Novitates, 3307: 1-16.

Carrasco, Marc A., and John H. Wahlert. 1999.

The cranial anatomy of Cricetops dormitor, an Oligocene fossil rodent from Mongolia. Amer. Mus. Novitates, 3275: 1-14.

Wahlert, John H. 1995.

Classification, biological. Pp. 42-44, in Academic American Encyclopedia, vol. 5. Grolier Inc., Danbury.

Wahlert, John H. 1993.

The fossil record. Pp. 1-37, in H. H. Genoways, ed., Biology of the Heteromyidae. Amer. Soc. Mammal., Spec. Publ., no. 10.

Wahlert, J. H., S. L. Sawitzke, and M. E. Holden. 1993.

Cranial anatomy and relationships of dormice (Rodentia, Myoxidae). Amer. Mus. Novitates, 3061: 1-32.

Email: Helene.Eisenman@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: 646 660-6252

Location: 17 Lexington Ave, room 910B

I was born and raised in New York City but decided to travel away from home for my education. I received my B.A. in Biology from Grinnell College in Iowa. As a college student I was first exposed to laboratory research and found that I enjoyed the hands-on aspect of doing science. I decided to continue my science education and went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for graduate school, where I earned a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology. The subject of my dissertation research was the molecular biology of heat shock proteins in the model yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After finishing my doctorate, I moved to Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY to study a pathogenic yeast, Cryptococcus neoformans.

RESEARCH

Currently, my research focuses on production of the melanin by fungi, a pigment that helps these organisms survive harsh conditions in the environment and increases the virulence of pathogenic fungi. Melanins are a family of related compounds that have remarkable physical properties. They are found throughout the natural world and have diverse functions ranging from camouflage and display to protection from ultraviolet radiation and enhancement of virulence in microbes. My research interests focus on fundamental questions in the biology of melanotic fungi related to biochemistry, pathogenesis, and molecular biology.

TEACHING

Microbiology (BIO 4004)
Fundamentals of Biology (BIO 1015/1016)

Honors Science and Technology in NYC (IDC 3002)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Eisenman, H. C., Greer, E. M., & McGrail, C. W. (2020) The role of melanins in melanotic fungi for pathogenesis and environmental survival. Applied Biotechnology and Microbiology 104: 4247-4257.

Eisenman, H. C., Duong, R., Chan, H., Tsue, R., & McClelland, E. (2014) Reduced virulence of melanized Cryptococcus neoformans in Galleria mellonella. Virulence 5: 611-618 (Featured on the journal cover).

Eisenman, H. C., Chow, S.-K., Tse, K. T., McClelland, E., & Casadevall, A. (2011) The effect of L-DOPA on Cryptococcus neoformans growth and gene expression. Virulence 2: 329-36.

Eisenman, H. C., Frases-Carvajal, S., Rodrigues, M.L., Nicola, A., & Casadevall, A. (2009) Vesicle-associated melanization in Cryptococcus neoformans. Microbiology 155: 3860-7.

Eisenman, H. C., Mues, M., Weber, S. E., Chaskes, S., Gerfen, G. and Casadevall, A. (2007) Cryptococcus neoformans laccase catalyzes melanin synthesis from both D- and L-DOPA. Microbiology 153: 3954-3962

Eisenman, H. C., Casadevall, A. and McClelland, E. E. (2007) New Insights on the Pathogenesis of Invasive Cryptococcus neoformans infection. Curr. Infect. Dis. Rep. 9: 457-464.

Eisenman, H. C., Nosanchuk, J. D., Webber, J. B. W., Emerson, R. J., Camesano, T. A., and Casadevall, A. (2005) The microstructure of cell wall-associated melanin in the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Biochemistry 44: 3683-3693.

Email: zachary.calamari@baruch.cuny.edu

New anatomical structures evolve through modifications to development. Dr. Calamari’s research focuses on the way development, as well as accompanying changes in gene expression during development, are responsible for the evolution of complex anatomical structures. He integrates diverse lines of evidence, such as 3D geometric morphometrics and high-throughput transcriptomics (sequencing all the genes expressed in a given tissue at a given point in time), to answer these questions, with a focus on the evolution of cranial appendages (horns, antlers, and other bony outgrowths) of even-toed, hoofed mammals (artiodactyls). Dr. Calamari’s research interests also include inferring evolutionary trees and using comparative tree-based statistics to understand morphological and genomic evolution. He has studied a broad diversity of mammals, from bank voles to mammoths and mastodons, and is interested in mentoring student research that leverages high throughput sequencing data as well as the excellent collections at the American Museum of Natural History.

Email: krista.dobi@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6231

Originally from New Jersey, Dr. Dobi did her graduate work at Harvard University, where she studied transcriptional regulation in yeast. After receiving her Ph.D. in Genetics in 2007, she spent several years as a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where she was the recipient of a NIH/Ruth L. Kirschstein postdoctoral fellowship to study transcriptional regulation of muscle development in Drosophila melanogaster. Her work as a postdoc uncovered new roles for a dozen transcription factors in fruit fly muscle development.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Dr. Dobi’s current research focuses on the formation of unique muscles during fruit fly embryonic development. In particular, she is interested in how muscles with distinct sizes, shapes, attachments and innervations are formed by the interplay of different transcription factors during development. She uses molecular, cellular and genetic approaches to understand basic questions of cellular specification.

There are opportunities for students to join the research in the Dobi Lab; please contact Dr. Dobi for more information.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Schulman, VK, Dobi KC and Baylies MK. The morphogenesis of the somatic musculature in Drosophila, Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2015 Jul-Aug 4(4):313-34.

Dobi KC, Schulman, VK and Baylies MK. The specification of the somatic musculature in Drosophila, Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2015 Jul-Aug 4(4):357-75.

Kumar RP*, Dobi KC*, Baylies MK and Abmayr S. The Drosophila T-box transcription factor Midline determines specific muscle identities. Genetics. 2015 Jan; 199(3):777-91. *These authors contributed equally to this work.

Dobi KC, Halfon, MS and Baylies MK. Whole genome analysis of muscle founder cells implicates the chromatin regulator Sin3A in muscle identity. Cell Reports. 2014 Aug; 8(3):858-70.

Wong MC, Dobi KC and Baylies MK. Discrete levels of Twist activity are required to direct multiple cell functions during gastrulation and somatic myogenesis. PLoS One. 2014 May; 9(6):e99553.

Dobi KC, Metzger T and Baylies MK. Characterization of early steps in muscle morphogenesis in a primary culture system. Fly. 2011 Apr; 5(2):68-75.

Email: manpreet.kohli@baruch.cuny.edu

Location: Rm 906E, 17 Lexington Ave

Dr. Manpreet Kohli is an assistant professor in the department of Natural Sciences. Dr. Kohli’s research focuses on understanding the patterns of insect biodiversity. She does so by studying evolutionary history of various species in a comparative context, and by asking questions like; how are different insect species related to each other? What can their geographic distributions tell us? And, how would say rising temperatures due to climate change effect these distributions? She answers these questions by collecting molecular (whole genome and transcriptomes), morphological, and fossil data from various insect species and using computational tools to analyze such data. Currently, her lab is particularly focused on studying the genetic and biogeographic consequences of climate change in insects found in cold habitats of the Arctic.

Link to Google Scholar Page.

Email: Pablo.Peixoto@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6200
Location: Rm 506, 17 Lexington Ave

Website

Pablo Peixoto is an Associate Professor of Natural Sciences. He completed his PhD studies in Cell Biophysics at the University of Extremadura, Spain in 2006. His research provided the first plausible explanation of how mitochondria import proteins from the cell cytoplasm without compromising the permeability barrier that is essential for energy production. In 2007, Professor Peixoto moved to New York University to study therapeutic approaches for control of cell death. He was awarded the “Young Bioenergeticist Award” from the Biophysical Society in 2010. The following year he moved to the Weill Cornell Medical College, where he studied the role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases that assail the aging human population. His current research at Baruch College aims to understanding how mitochondria interact with the rest of the cell in health and disease contexts. The Peixoto lab is invested in training undergraduate/graduate biomedical researchers and counts with support from the PSC-CUNY, the Eugene Lang Foundation the American Heart Association, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

Undergraduate instruction: Independent Studies (Bio5000), Honors Thesis (Bio6000H), Introductory Biology (Bio1011/12, Bio2010), Human Physiology (Bio4010).

Dr. Peixoto is currently preparing a 3-credit lab course themed on mindfulness and cardiopulmonary physiology combining yoga, breathing exercises, and biofeedback to be offered in the spring of 2024.

Graduate instruction: Cell and Molecular Biology (Bio71401).

Dr. Peixoto is committed to inclusive excellence in the classroom and in the laboratory. He currently serves as Dean’s Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, overseeing the Weissman DEI Alliance along with Professors Gisele Regatão (Journalism) and David Milch (Fine and Performing Arts).

Email: Zully.Santiago@baruch.cuny.edu

Department of Natural Sciences, Rm 506, 17 Lexington Ave

Zully Santiago is a lecturer in Biology at Baruch. She holds a PhD in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from the CUNY Graduate Center. She did her undergraduate work at John Jay College, earning a BS in forensic science/molecular biology and a BA in government/political science.  She taught at Hunter College before joining Baruch.

Her publications include:

Predicting nucleation sites in chemotaxing Dictyostelium discoideum

Advances in geometric techniques for analyzing blebbing in chemotaxing Dictyostelium cells

Email: valerie.schawaroch@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6203
Location: Rm 906B, 23rd St. building

Valerie Schawaroch received her Ph.D. in October 2000 from The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (Biology: ecology, evolution and behavior). She subsequently served as a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation funded research project conducted at the American Museum of Natural History.

“I study the evolutionary history of fruit flies in the family Drosophilidae. My research employs both molecular and morphological techniques to identify species and determine relationships among these species. Molecular techniques employed are DNA isolation, PCR amplification (to make copies of trace amounts of DNA) and DNA sequencing (to read the genetic code of the fly species). The morphology or external features of these tiny flies are examined with traditional light microscopes as well as the scanning electron microscope and the confocal laser scanning microscope. My current collaborations are with researchers at the American Museum of Natural History, The City College of New York and The Newark Museum.”

Publications

Klaus, A.V., V. Kulasekara and V. Schawaroch. 2003.

Three-Dimensional Visualization of Insect Morphology Using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. Journal of Microscopy. In press.

Schawaroch, Valerie. 2002.

Phylogeny of a paradigm lineage: the Drosophila melanogaster species group (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 76: 21-37. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com

Brower, A. V. Z. and V. Schawaroch. 1996.

Three steps of homology assessment. Cladistics. 12: 265-272. http://www.sciencedirect.com/, 13: 34-40.

Email: Rebecca.Spokony@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6238
Location: Rm 506, 17 Lexington Ave

Website

Rebecca Spokony joins Baruch as Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences. Her lab focuses on hormonal regulation of development, which she started examining at the University of Arizona during her Ph.D. work on central nervous system reorganization during metamorphosis of Drosophila melanogaster.   She continued examining the genome-wide targets of the two main hormones involved in metamorphosis, ecdysone and juvenile hormone during postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago.  Professor Spokony was a member of the ModENCODE consortium, producing publicly available reagents and transcription factor DNA-binding data for ~125 factors.  Her current research involves following-up with genetic studies of new regulators and targets involved in these hormonal pathways.   She is studying how organisms integrate environmental conditions such as nutrition and circadian rhythm to produce appropriate developmental outcomes.

Email: sarah.bengston@baruch.cuny.edu

Website

Dr. Bengston is a behavioral ecologist and evolutionary biologist, generally interested in how repeatable behavioral variation between individuals, colonies, populations and species affect evolutionary processes. She is particularly interested in the evolution of new life-history strategies and ecological speciation. Prior to joining the faculty at Baruch, she was a Huxley Faculty Fellow (2017-2018) at Rice University in Houston, TX and a NSF Postdoctoral Fellow (2015-2017) in the lab of Christian Rabeling at the University of Rochester (now at Arizona State University). She received her PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Entomology from the University of Arizona (2010-2015) under the guidance of Anna Dornhaus. She earned her BcS in EEB from the University of Tennessee where she was also a member of Susan Riechert’s lab.

Email: stephen.gosnell@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: 914-257-7313‬
Website

A native of South Carolina, Stephen completed his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at Clemson University before continuing on to degrees in Statistics (MA) and Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (MA, PhD) at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  After completing postdoctoral positions at the UCSB Marine Science Institute and the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, he joined Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Faculty in Biology (Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior subprogram) as an assistant professor in 2014.

Stephen’s work focuses on understanding the mechanisms that drive patterns in diversity (including impacts of human activities), how diversity impacts ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services, and how ecology can inform, motivate, and learn from management actions. In order to consider these issues across multiple scales, his lab employs and connects field, lab, and quantitative techniques in various communities.  Most of the lab’s field projects focus on understanding, restoring, and conserving coastal and aquatic communities in the Hudson River watershed (e.g., oyster reefs, salt marshes, tidal marshes, rivers), while computational work explore diversity patterns and impacts using big-data (focal areas include kelp and rain forests) and model development.  He is also interested in communicating research findings to stakeholders and finding ways to connect education and research.

There are openings for new students (undergraduate and graduate) in the lab who share similar interests.  Interested students should contact Dr. Gosnell at stephen.gosnell@baruch.cuny.edu; you can also find more information at http://www.gosnelllab.com/

Email: David.Gruber@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6236
Website: http://www.davidgruber.com

David Gruber is Distinguished Professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences at Baruch College, City University of New York and serves on the faculty of the Ph.D. Program in Biology at the CUNY Graduate Center and the CUNY Macaulay Honors College. He is also an Explorer for National Geographic, a Research Associate in Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History and an Adjunct Faculty member at the John B. Pierce Laboratory of the Yale School of Medicine.

His interdisciplinary research pertains to marine biology, genomics/transcriptomics of uncharacterized marine organism, deep-sea ecology, photosynthesis, biofluorescence and bioluminescence. He completed a PhD in biological oceanography from the Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences and served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Brown University Division of Biology and Medicine, working to develop fluorescent proteins into modulatable probes with neurobiological and medical applications.

Prof. Gruber’s deep-diving scientific diving teams have discovered scores of unique biofluorescent compounds, several of which have been developed into tools to find better cancer drugs. A former tropical forester for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gruber’s research utilizes Remote Operated Vehicles, extended-range SCUBA and soft robotics (in collaboration with the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory) to investigate corals, sponges and delicate forms of marine fauna. Gruber is passionate about utilizing modern technology to view the underwater world from marine creatures’ perspectives. In this vein, his group developed a “shark-eye” camera to gain a shark’s perspective of their marine environment. Gruber also led the first study to apply advanced deep machine learning techniques to better detect and classify Sperm Whale bioacoustics. He is currently working on sea turtle biology, following his discovery of biofluorescence in the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).

In addition, Prof. Gruber is committed to communicating science to the general public. He serves as a scientific advisor and producer for WNYC Studio 360’s “Science and Creativity” series and his writings have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Nature Medicine and The Best American Science Writing. He is the co-author of “Aglow in the Dark: The Revolutionary Science of Biofluorescence” (Harvard University Press). He holds master’s degrees in coastal environmental management from Duke University and in journalism from Columbia University.

From 2017-2018, David was a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Gruber was awarded the 2019 Lagrange Prize, the greatest international recognition for complex systems science, for his research “focused on the conservation of biodiversity, protection of resources and the safeguarding of ecosystems.”

Email: Chester.Zarnoch@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6239
Lab Website

Chester B. Zarnoch is a Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology at Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY) and is Graduate Faculty in the Biology Program at CUNY’s Graduate Center. He has been an active researcher in marine ecology and aquaculture since 2001 and has published papers on shellfish biology, sediment nitrogen cycling, salt marsh ecology, and intensive aquaculture. His current research aims to describe the biological and physical processes that influence ecosystem services derived from restored habitats in eutrophic estuaries. Zarnoch holds a Ph.D. in Biology (The Graduate Center – CUNY, 2006).

Email: jean.gaffney@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: 646-660-6229
Location: Rm 506, 17 Lexington Avenue

Jean Gaffney completed her undergraduate degree in chemistry at Binghamton University (SUNY). She attended Yale University for her Ph.D. with Ann M. Valentine, where she studied the metal binding properties of a novel monolobal transferrin from the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Following her doctoral work, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Weizmann Institute of Science with Irit Sagi, where she focused on understanding a class of enzymes implicated in cancer known as the matrix metalloproteinases. She joined the Baruch faculty as an assistant professor in the fall of 2014.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Dr. Gaffney is interested in continuing to understand the role of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in diseases such as cancer. The MMPs have been implicated in homeostatic roles as well as in disease states, which makes them a challenging yet critical target for therapeutics.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

J. Gaffney, I. Solomonov, E. Zehorai, I. Sagi. Multilevel Regulation of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Tissue Homeostasis Indicates Their Molecular Specificity In-Vivo. Matrix Biology. Accepted for publication on January 18, 2015.

F. Amos, K. Cole, R.L. Meserole, J.P. Gaffney, and A.M. Valentine. Titanium mineralization in ferritin: A room temperature non-photochemical preparation and biophysical characterization. Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry 2013; 18(3): 145-152.

J.P. Gaffney and A.M. Valentine. Beyond Bilobal: Transferrin homologs having unusual domain architecture. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta- General Subjects 2012; 1860(3): 212-217.

J.P. Gaffney and A.M. Valentine. The challenges of trafficking hydrolysis prone metals and ascidians as an archetype. Dalton Transactions 2011; 40(22): 5287-5385.

J.P Gaffney and A.M. Valentine. Contrasting synergistic anion effects in vanadium(V) binding to nicatransferrin versus human serum transferrin. Biochemistry 2009; 48(49): 11609-11611.

D.M. Sarno, J.J. Martin, S.M. Hira, C.J Timpson, J.P Gaffney and W.E. Jones. Enhanced conductivity of thin film polyaninline by self-assembled transition metal complexes. Langmuir 2007; 23(2): 879-884

Email: Edyta.Greer@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6220

Education

Ph.D.: Graduate Center, CUNY

Postdoctoral Research: Cornell University

Current Research Interests:

Research in my group focuses on thermally-activated heavy-atom tunneling (TAHAT) in organic chemistry. Thermally-activated heavy-atom tunneling is a process in which atom tunneling through the barrier may contribute to reaction rates. Determining levels of contributions of TAHAT (whether high or low) is key to understanding mechanistic details in organic reactions. My research provides a manageable route to assessing TAHAT by using computational methods. The mechanistic details that we study include reaction rates and kinetic isotope effects. The computations focus on reactions forming new carbon-carbon bonds. We computationally assess TAHAT, including potential “sweet spots” in mid and upper barrier regions to provide needed insight to mechanistic organic chemistry. My research is also being incorporated into the undergraduate organic curriculum at Baruch College. I also carry out outreach educational talks at local elementary schools with chemical demonstrations and experiments to convey the importance of fundamental science to the youngest generations of students.

Grants

NSF CHE-1956098

The Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society Grant No. 54244-UR4 (2014-2018)

Publications:

2008-Present

(*Baruch undergraduate student)

M. José Sosa, María Noel Urrutia, Patricia L. Schilardi, Matías I. Quindt, Sergio Bonesi, Dobrushe Denburg,* Mariana Vignoni, Alexander Greer, Edyta M. Greer, Andrés H. Thomas “Mono- and Bis-Alkylated Lumazine Sensitizers: Synthetic, Molecular Orbital Theory, Nucleophilic Index, and Photochemical Studies” 2020, submitted.

Helene C. Eisenman, Edyta M. Greer, Carolyn W. McGrail* “The Role of Melanins in Melanotic Fungi for Pathogenesis and Environmental Survival” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2020, 104, 4247-4257.

Sasan Karimi, Shuai Ma, Michelle Qu, Biling Chen, Keith Ramig, Edyta M. Greer, David J. Szalda, Michelle C. Neary, William F. Berkowitz, Gopal Subramaniam “A New Synthesis of Biologically Active Pyrroles: Formal Synthesis of Pentabromopseudilin, Bimetopyrol, and Several Antitubercular Agents” Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 2020, 57, 327-336.

Lauren P. Bejcek, Aswin K. Garimallaprabhakaran, Duygu M. Suyabatmaz, Alexander Greer, William H. Hersh, Edyta M. Greer, Ryan P. Murelli “Maltol- and Allomaltol-Derived Oxidopyrylium Ylides: Methyl Substitution Pattern Kinetically Influences [5 + 3] Dimerization versus [5 + 2] Cycloaddition Reactions” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2019, 84, 14670-14678.

Goutam Ghosh, Sarah J. Belh, Callistus Chiemezie, Niluksha Walalawela, Ashwini A. Ghogare, Mariana Vignoni, Andrés H. Thomas, Sherri A. McFarland,
Edyta M. Greer, Alexander Greer “S,S-Chiral Linker Induced U Shape with a Syn-facial Sensitizer and Photocleavable Ethene Group” Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2019, 95, 293-305.

Edyta M. Greer, Kitae Kwon* “Density Functional Theory and ab initio Computational Evidence for Nitrosamine Photoperoxides: Hammett Substituent Effects in the Photogeneration of the Nitrooxide Intermediate” Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2018, 94, 975-984.

Edyta M. Greer, Kitae Kwon* “Overview of Computational Methods for Organic Chemists” Chapter 2 in Applied Theoretical Organic Chemistry, 2018, 31-65 (Dean J. Tantillo, Ed.)

Niluksha Walalawela, Mariana Vignoni, María Noel Urrutia, Sarah J. Belh, Edyta M. Greer, Andrés H. Thomas, Alexander Greer “Kinetic Control in the Regioselective Alkylation of Pterin Sensitizers: A Synthetic, Photochemical, and Theoretical Study” Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2018, 94, 834-844.

Charles Doubleday, Randy Armas, Dana Walker, Christopher V. Cosgriff*, Edyta M. Greer “Heavy-Atom Tunneling Calculations in Thirteen Organic Reactions: Tunneling Contributions are Substantial, and Bell’s Formula Closely Approximates Multidimensional Tunneling at ≥250 K” Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English, 2017, 56, 13099-13102. Highlighted by: (1) Gabriella Graziano Nature Reviews-Chemistry, 2017, 1, Article number: 0086, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41570-017-0086 and (2) Steven Bacharach Computational Chemistry Highlights http://www.compchemhighlights.org/2017/12/heavy-atom-tunneling-calculations-in.html

Ashwini A. Ghogare, Ciro J. Debaz, Marilene Silva Oliveira, Inna Abramova, Prabhu P. Mohapatra, Kitae Kwon,* Edyta M. Greer, Fernanda Manso Prado, Hellen P. Valério, Paolo Di Mascio, Alexander Greer “Experimental and DFT Computational Insight into Nitrosamine Photochemistry – Oxygen Matters” Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2017, 121, 5954-5966.

Sasan Karimi, Shuai Ma, Yanan Liu, Keith Ramig, Edyta M. Greer, Kitae Kwon,* William F. Berkowitz, Gopal Subramaniam “Substituted Pyrrole Synthesis from Nitrodienes” Tetrahedron Letters, 2017, 58, 2223-2227.

Edyta M. Greer, Kitae Kwon,* Alexander Greer, Charles Doubleday “Thermally Activated Tunneling in Organic Reactions” Tetrahedron, 2016, 72, 7357-7373.

Keith Ramig,  Gopal Subramaniam, Sasan Karimi, David J. Szalda, Allen Ko,* Aaron Lam,* Jeffrey Li,* Ani Coaderaj,* Leyla Cavdar,* Lukasz Bogdan,* Kitae Kwon,* Edyta M. Greer “Interplay of Nitrogen-​Atom Inversion and Conformational Inversion in Enantiomerization of 1H-​1-​Benzazepines” Journal of the Organic Chemistry, 2016, 81, 3313-3320.

Sasan Karimi, Shuai Ma, Keith Ramig, Edyta M. Greer, David J. Szalda, Gopal Subramaniam “Oxidative Ring-​contraction of 3H-​1-​Benzazepines to Quinoline Derivatives” Tetrahedron Letters, 2015, 56, 6886-6889.

Marilene Silva Oliveira, Ashwini A. Ghogare, Inna Abramova, Edyta M. Greer, Fernanda Manso Prado, Paolo Di Mascio, Alexander Greer “Mechanism of Photochemical O-​Atom Exchange in Nitrosamines with Molecular Oxygen” Journal of the Organic Chemistry, 2015, 80, 6119-6127.

Edyta M. Greer, Cesar S. Quezada,* Christopher V. Cosgriff* “Butylated Hydroxytoluene Enediyne: Access to Diradical and Electrophilic Quinone Methide Intermediates” Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry, 2015, 28, 365-369.

Allen Ko,* Aaron Lam,* Jeffrey Li,* Edyta M. Greer, David J. Szalda, Sasan Karimi, Gopal Subramaniam, Keith Ramig “Regioselective Alkylation Reactions of 2,​4-​Diphenyl-​3H-​1-​benzazepine Give Either 3-​alkyl-​3H-​1-​benzazepines or 1-​alkyl-​1H-​1-​benzazepines” Tetrahedron Letters, 2014, 55, 4386-4389.

Edyta M. Greer, Christopher V. Cosgriff,* Charles Doubleday “Computational Evidence for Heavy-Atom Tunneling in the Bergman Cyclization of a 10-Membered-Ring Enediyne”  Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2013, 135, 10194-10197. (highlighted on the website of JACS and by Steven Bacharach in Computational Chemistry Highlights (http://www.compchemhighlights.org/2013/07/tunneling-in-bergman-cyclization.html))

Edyta M. Greer, Christopher V. Cosgriff* “Reaction Mechanisms: Pericyclic Reactions” Annual Reports Section “B” (Organic Chemistry), 2013, 109, 328-350.

Keith Ramig, Edyta M. Greer, David J. Szalda, Sasan Karimi, Allen Ko,* Laura Boulos,* Jiansan Gu,* Nathan Dvorkin,* Hema Bhramdat, Gopal Subramaniam, “NMR Spectroscopic and Computational Study of Conformational Isomerism in Substituted 2-Aryl-3H-1-benzazepines: Toward Isolable Atropisomeric Benzazepine Enantiomers” Journal of the Organic Chemistry, 2013, 78, 8028-8036.

Sasan Karimi, Keith Ramig, Edyta M. Greer, David J. Szalda, William F. Berkowitz, Prakash Prasad, Gopal Subramaniam, “Tandem Ring-Contraction/Decarbonylation of 2,4-Diphenyl-3H-1-benzazepine to 2,4-Diphenylquinoline” Tetrahedron 2013, 69, 147-151.

Edyta M. Greer, Christopher V. Cosgriff,* Olga Lavinda* “A Curtin-Hammett Pentamethylene Chain Symmetrization Process in the Bergman Cyclization of an 11-Membered-Ring Enediyne” Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry, 2012, 25, 1293–1298.

Edyta M. Greer, Christopher V. Cosgriff* “Reaction Mechanisms: Pericyclic Reactions” Annual Reports Section “B” (Organic Chemistry), 2012, 108, 251-271.

Edyta M. Greer, Mariya Tolmachova “Marie Curie: Pioneering Discoveries and Humanitarianism” Helvetica Chimica Acta, 2011, 94, 1893-1907. (featured in CUNY Research Newsletter 2012, 7, 8)

Edyta M. Greer, Olga Lavinda* “Theoretical Study of the Bergman cyclization of 2,3-Diethynyl-1-nitrotropylium Ion: Formation of a Nitroxide Radical Amenable to EPR Detection for Biological Applications” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2010, 75, 8650-8653.

Keith Ramig, Edyta M. Greer, David J. Szalda, Rabail Razi,* Fahima Mahir,* Nataliya Pokeza,* Wei Wong,* Benjamin Kaplan,* Joanne Lam,* Ayesha Mannan,* Christopher Missak,* Dat Mai,* Gopal Subramaniam, William F. Berkowitz, Prakash Prasad, Sasan Karimi, Ngai Hin Lo, and Linas V. Kudzma “Experimental and Theoretical Studies of a One-flask Synthesis of 3H-1-Benzazepines from 2-Haloanilines and alpha,beta-Unsaturated Ketones” The European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2010, 2363-2371.

Edyta M. Greer, Roald Hoffmann “Metalla-Cope Rearrangements: Bridging Organic and Inorganic Chemistry” Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2010, 26, 2248-2255. (highlighted on the front page of the website of the American Chemical Society, and it was the second most accessed paper in the first three months of 2010 for the JPChem A)

Edyta M. Greer, David J. Aebisher, Alexander Greer, Ronald Bentley “Computational Studies of the Tropone Natural Products, Thiotropocin, Tropodithietic Acis, and Troposulfenin.  Significance of Keto-Thiol Tautomerism” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2008, 73, 280-283.

2003-2007

Edyta M. Brzostowska, Roald Hoffmann, Carol A. Parish “Tuning the Bergman Cyclization by Introduction of Metal Fragments at Various Positions of the Enediyne.  MetallaBergman Cyclizations” Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2007, 129, 4401-4409.

Aaron T. Frank, Nicola S. Farina, Nahed Sawwan, Mo Qi, Edyta M. Brzostowska, Frank W. Grasso, Paul Haberfield, Alexander Greer “Natural Macromolecules Have a Limited Structural Diversity?” Molecular Diversity 2007, 11, 115-118.

David J. Aebisher, Edyta M. Brzostowska, Nahed Sawwan, Rafeal Ovalle, Alexander Greer “Implication for the Existence of a Heptasulfur Linkage in Natural o-Benzopolysulfanes” Journal of Natural Products, 2007, 70, 1492-1494.

Edyta M. Brzostowska, Martine Paulynice, Ronald Bentley, Alexander Greer “Planar Chirality Due to a Polysulfur Ring in Natural Pentathiepin Cytotoxins.  Implications of Planar Chirality for Enantiospecific Biosynthesis and Toxicity” Chemical Research in Toxicology, 2007, 20, 1046-1052.

David J. Aebisher, Edyta M. Brzostowska, Mahendran Adaickpillai, Alexander Greer “Regioselective (Biomimetic) Synthesis of a Pentasulfane from ortho-Benzoquinone” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2007, 72, 2951-2955.

Nahed Sawwan, Edyta M. Brzostowska, Alexander Greer “Substituent Effects on the Reactivity of Benzo-1,2-dithiolan-3-one 1-Oxides and Their Possible Application to the Synthesis of DNA-Targeting Drugs” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2005, 70, 6968-6971.

Edyta M. Brzostowska, Alexander Greer “Polysulfane Antitumor Agents from o-Benzyne. An Odd-Even Alternation Found in the Stability of Products o-C6H4Sx (x=1-8)” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2004, 69, 5483-5485.

Edyta M. Brzostowska, Alexander Greer “The Role of Amine in the Mechanism of Pentathiepin (Polysulfur) Antitumor Agents” Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2003, 125, 396-404.

(name appears as Edyta M. Brzostowska before 2008)

The Greer Research Group

Current Group Members (Quants):

Dobrushe Denburg (September 2019-Present)

Ayelet Segal (September 2019-Present)

Victor Siev (September 2019-Present)

Former Group Members:

19.        Carolyn McGrail (May 2018-June 2019)

18.        Henry Wu (January 2019-June 2019)

17.        Frankie Banevides (Jan. 2017 – Aug. 2018)

16.         Thuong Tran (Jan. 2017 – Aug. 2018)

15.         Kitae (Mikey) Kwon (Aug. 2014 – June 2017)

14.         Anastasia Badziai (Sept. 2015 – Dec. 2015)

13.         Elena Votto (Feb. 2015 – Aug. 2015)

12.         Jade Marino Creto (Aug. 2014 – June 2015)

11.         Lukasz Bogdan (Sept. 2013 – June 2014)

10.         John Ortiz (Sept. 2013 – present)

9.           Cesar Quezada (Sept. 2012 – May 2013)

8.           Michael Erdos (Sept. 2012 – Dec. 2012)

7.           Irina Kushenazarova (Jan. 2011 – May 2012)

6.           Christopher V. Cosgriff (Jan. 2011 – May 2013)

5.           Nathan Dvorkin (Sept. 2010 – Aug. 2012)

4.           Janna Petrovich (Jan. 2010 – May 2011)

3.           Dat Mai (Jan. 2009 – Dec. 2010)

2.           Rose Connor (Sept. 2008 – Dec. 2008)

1.           Olga Lavinda (Sept. 2008 – Jan. 2011)

Email: Chandrika.Kulatilleke@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6219
Location: Room 804A, 17 Lexington Ave

Chandrika Kulatilleke, Ph. D. (Bio-Inorganic/Analytical Chemistry – Wayne State University- 2000)

Post-Doctoral – Biochemistry

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Visiting Professorship – Northwestern University

RECENT AWARDS/FELLOWSHIPS

Baruch College Grant Development Program Award – 2017

Visiting Professorship – Duke University – 2016-2017

RESEARCH

My research interests can be broadly divided into two categories: Bio-inorganic chemistry & Environmental chemistry.

Bio-inorganic chemistry – I am interested in looking at the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of transition metal complexes which are formed with macrocyclic ligands and explore their functions, properties and structure-activity relationships in biological systems. I am particularly interested in understanding the aspects of “macrocylic effect” of these metal complexes.

Environmental chemistry – I am also interested in exploring the field of pesticides and their effects on the environment. This relates to the analysis of pesticide residues on fruits, vegetables and other commodities as well as the effects of these residues on bodies of water.

Publications

C. P. Kulatilleke

“Characterization and Properties of the Copper(II/I) Complexes of Macrocyclic Hexathiaether Ligand [21[aneS6,” Polyhedron 2007, 26 (6), 1166-1172.

C.P. Kulatilleke, S.A. de Silva and Y. Eliav*

“A Coumarin Based Fluorescent Photo Induced Electron Transfer Cation Sensor,” Polyhedron 2006, 25 (13), 2593-2596.

(* – Baruch College Science-Major Undergraduate Student)

S.H. Kakos, L.T. Dressel, J. D. Bushendorf, C.P. Kotarba, P. Wijesinghe, C. P. Kulatilleke, M.P. McGillivary, G. Chaka, M.J, Heeg, L.A. Ochrymowycz, D.B. Rorabacher

“Effect of Constrained Donor Atom Orientations on the Stabilities, Complexation Kinetics, Redox Potentials, and Structures of Macrocyclic Polythiaether Complexes. Coper(II) Complexes with Cyclopentanediyl Derivatives of [14]aneS4 in 80% Methanol,” Inorg. Chem. (American Chemical Society) 2006, 45 (2), 923-034.

C.P. Kulatilleke

“Thiaether Ligands as Unique Copper Chelators” J. of Inorg. Biochem.  2003, 96, 1, 172

P. Wijetunge, C. P. Kulatilleke, L.T. Dressel, M. J. Heeg, L. A. Ochrymowycz and D.B. Rorabacher

“Effect of Conformational Constraints on Gated Electron-Transfer Kinetics. 3. Copper(II/I) Complexes with cis and trans-Cyclopentanediyl-[14]anes4,” Inorg. Chem. (American Chemical Society) 2000, 39, (13), 2897-2905.

C.P. Kulatilleke, S.N. Goldie, L.A. Ochrymowycz and D.B. Rorabacher

Formation and Dissociation Kinetics and Crystal Structures of Nickel(II) Macrocyclic tetrathia- ether Complexes in Acetonitrile. Comparison to Nickel(II) Macrocyclic Tetramines,” Inorg. Chem. (American Chemica Society) 2000, 39, (7), 1444-1453.

C.P. Kulatilleke, S.N.Goldie, L.A. Ochrymowycz and D.B. Rorabacher

“Unusually High Selectivity of Polythiaethers for Copper(II) over Nickel(II),” Inorg. Chem. (American Chemical Society) 1999, 38, (25), 5906-5909.

K. Krylova, C.P. Kulatilleke, M.J. Heeg, C.A. Salhi, L.A. Ochrymowycz and D.B. Rorabacher

“A Structural Strategy for Generating Rapid Electron-Transfer Kinetics in Copper(II/I) Systems,” Inorg. Chem. (American Chemical Society) 1999, 38, (19), 4322-4328.

A.M. Mubarak and C.P. Kulatilleke,

“Sulphur Constituents of Neem Seed Volatiles: A Revision, ” Phytochemistry (Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd. Oxford) 1990, 29, 3351-3352

Collaborations

Duke University

Columbia University

Nothwestern University

Brooklyn College

Montclair State University

Email: Keith.Ramig@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6243
Location: Room 607, 17 Lexington Ave

Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh (1988)

Postdoctoral work, Cornell University

I began my career as an R&D chemist in the pharma industry, working on new methods for the synthesis of drug candidates.  My research since coming to Baruch in 1998 started in the area of organofluorine chemistry (synthesis of halogenated anesthetic enantiomers), and currently focuses on the study of benzazepines, which are little-studied analogues of the benzodiazepine pharmaceuticals.  Our group of undergraduate researchers devised one of the few general methods for obtaining these rare compounds, and is currently studying their properties with the eventual goal of testing their possible biological activity.  Another facet of our research deals with indigo-like dye molecules, which are well known as components of the historical dye Tyrian Purple.  Our goal is to explain the highly variable color of these dyes when they are applied to fabrics.  Both of these projects involve collaboration with professors and students at Hunter College, Queensborough Community College, and Queens College.

On the administrative side, I am Deputy Chair of Chemistry, responsible for staffing the chemistry teaching schedule, and for hiring chemistry adjunct instructors.  I am also Baruch’s Health Professions Advisor, and am co-chair of the Department of Natural Sciences Recommendations Committee.  That Committee puts together departmental recommendations for our students applying to medical and dental schools.

Extended Bibliography

PUBLICATIONS since 1998 (* indicates a Baruch undergraduate student researcher)

K. Ramig, T. Eskaros, T. Islam, O. Lavinda, S. Karimi, L. Massa, C. Cooksey “Thermochromicity in Wool Dyed with 6-Bromoindigo Depends on the Presence and Identity of a Solvent” Heritage 2023, 6:672-680. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6010036

S. Karimi, S. Ma, M. Qu, B. Chen, K. Ramig, E. M. Greer, D. J. Szalda, M. C. Neary, W. F. Berkowitz, G. Subramanian “A New Synthesis of Biologically Active Pyrroles: Formal Synthesis of Pentabromopseudilin, Bimetopyrol, and Several Antitubercular Agents” J. Heterocyclic Chem. 2020, 57:327-336.

H. H. C. Lakmal, J. X. Xu, X. Xu, B. Ahmed,* C. Fong,* D. J. Szalda, K. Ramig, A. Szygula, C. E. Webster, D. Zhang, X. Cui “Synthesis of C-Unsubstituted 1,2-Diazetidines and Their Ring-Opening Reactions via Selective N-N Bond Cleavage” J. Org. Chem. 2018, 83:9497-9503.

S. Karimi, S. Ma, Y. Liu, K. Ramig, E. M. Greer, K. Kwon,* W. F. Berkowitz, G. Subramaniam  “Substituted Pyrrole Synthesis from Nitrodienes” Tetrahedron Letters 2017, 58:2223-2227.

K. Ramig, A. Islamova,* J. Scalise,* S. Karimi, O. Lavinda,* C. Cooksey, A. Vasileiadou, I. Karapanagiotis “The Effect of Light and Dye Composition on the Color of Dyeings with Indigo, 6-Bromoindigo, and 6,6’-Dibromoindigo, Components of Tyrian Purple” Structural Chemistry 2017, 28:1553-1561.

K. Ramig, G. Subramaniam, S. Karimi, D. J. Szalda, A. Ko,* A. Lam,* J. Li,* A. Coaderaj,* L. Cavdar,* L. Bogdan,* K. Kwon,* E. M. Greer, “Interplay of Nitrogen-Atom Inversion and Conformational Inversion in Enantiomerization of 1H‑1-Benzazepines” J. Org. Chem. 2016, 81:3313–3320.

K. Ramig, O. Lavinda*,  D. J. Szalda, I. Mironova*, S. Karimi, F. Pozzi, N. Shah, J. Samson, H. Ajiki, L. Massa, D. Mantzouris, I. Karapanagiotis, C. Cooksey “The Nature of Thermochromic Effects in Dyeings with Indigo, 6-Bromoindigo, and 6,6’-Dibromoindigo, Components of Tyrian Purple” Dyes and Pigments 2015, 117:37-48.

S. Karimi, S. Ma, K. Ramig, E. M. Greer, D. J. Szalda, G. Subramaniam “Oxidative Ring-Contraction of 3H-1-Benzazepines to Quinoline Derivatives” Tetrahedron Letters 2015, 56:6886-6889.

A. Ko*, A. Lam*, J. Li* E. M. Greer, D. J. Szalda, S. Karimi, G. Subramaniam, K. Ramig “Regioselective Alkylation Reactions of 2,4-Diphenyl-3H-1-benzazepine give either 3-Alkyl-3H-1-benzazepines or 1-Alkyl-1H-1-benzazepines” Tetrahedron Letters 2014, 55:4386-4389.

K. Ramig, E. Greer, D. J. Szalda, S. Karimi, A. Ko*, L. Boulos*, J. Gu*, N. Dvorkin*, H. Bhramdat, G. Subramaniam, “NMR Spectroscopic and Computational Study of Conformational Isomerism in Substituted 2-Aryl-3H-1-Benzazepines: Toward Isolable Atropisomeric Benzazepine Enantiomers” Journal of Organic Chemistry  2013, 78:8028-8036.

K. Ramig  “Stereodynamic Properties of Medium-Ring Benzo-Fused Nitrogenous Heterocycles:  Benzodiazepines, Benzazepines, Benzazocines, and Benzazonines”  Tetrahedron 2013, 69:10783-10795.

O. Lavinda*, I. Mironova*, S. Karimi, F. Pozzi, J. Samson, H. Ajiki, L. Massa, K. Ramig “Singular Thermochromic Effects in Dyeings with Indigo, 6-Bromoindigo, and 6,6’-Dibromoindigo” Dyes and Pigments 2013, 96:581-589.

S. Karimi, K. Ramig, E. M. Greer, D. J. Szalda, W. F. Berkowitz, P. Prasad, G. Subramaniam “Tandem Ring-contraction/Decarbonylation of 2,4-Diphenyl-3H-1-benzazepine to 2,4-Diphenylquinoline” Tetrahedron  2013, 69:147-151.

K. Ramig, O. Lavinda*, D. J. Szalda “Highly Stereoselective Decarboxylation of (+)-1-Bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoropropanoic Acid gives (+)-1-Bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane ((+)-Halothane) with Retention of Configuration” Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 2012, 23:201-204.

D. J. Szalda, K. Ramig, O. Lavinda*, Z. C. Koren, L. Massa “6-Bromoindigo Dye” Acta Cryst.  2012, C68:o160-o163.

K. Ramig, E. M. Greer, D. J. Szalda, R. Razi*, F. Mahir*, N. Pokeza*, W. Wong*, B. Kaplan*, J. Lam*, A. Mannan*, C. Missak*, D. Mai*, G. Subramaniam, W. F. Berkowitz, P. Prasad, S. Karimi, N. H. Lo, L. V. Kudzma, “Experimental and Theoretical Studies of a One-flask Synthesis of 3H-1-Benzazepines from 2-Fluoroaniline and a,b-Unsaturated Ketones” European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2010, 2363-2371.

K. Ramig, S. Alli*, M. Cheng*, R. Leung*, R. Razi*, M. Washington*,  L. V. Kudzma “Synthesis of 2,4-Diaryl-3H-1-benzazepines” Synlett, 2007, 2868-2870.

K. Ramig, “(+/-)-Halothane (2-bromo-2-chloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane)” Electronic Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, 2007.

http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/eros/articles/rn00729/frame.html

K. Ramig, “Synthesis and Reactions of Fluoroether Anesthetics.” Synthesis, 2002, 2627-2631.

K. Ramig, M. Englander*, F. Kallashi*, L. Livchits*, J. Zhou*, “Synthesis of Esters by Selective Methanolysis of the Trifluoromethyl Group.” Tetrahedron Letters, 2002, 43:7731-7734.

L. V. Kudzma, C. G. Huang, R. A. Lessor, L. A. Rozov, S. Afrin*, F. Kallashi*, C. McCutcheon*, K. Ramig, “Diisopropylethylamine Mono(hydrogen fluoride) for Nucleophilic Fluorination of Sensitive Substrates: Synthesis of Sevoflurane.” Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 2001, 111:11-16.

R. L. Hanson, J. M. Howell, T. L. LaPorte, M. J. Donovan, D. L. Cazzulino, V. Zannella, M. A. Montana, V. B. Nanduri, S. R. Schwarz, R. F. Eiring, S. C. Durand, J. M. Wasylyk, W. L. Parker, M. S. Liu, F. J. Okuniewicz, B.-C. Chen, J. C. Harris, K. J. Natalie Jr, K. Ramig, S. Swaminathan, V. W. Rosso, S. K. Pack, B. T. Lotz, P. J. Bernot, A. Rusowicz, D. A. Lust, K. S. Tse, J. J. Venit, L. J. Szarka, R. N. Patel, “Synthesis of allysine ethylene acetal using phenylalanine dehydrogenase from Thermoactinomyces intermedius.” Enzyme and Microbial Technology, 2000, 26:348-358.

K. Ramig, L. V. Kudzma, R. A. Lessor, L. A. Rozov, “Acid Fluorides and 1,1-Difluoroethyl Methyl Ethers as Fluoride Sources in Halogen-Exchange Reactions.” Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 1999, 94:1-5.

P. L. Polavarapu, C. Zhao, K. Ramig, “Vibrational Circular Dichroism, Absolute Configuration and Predominant Conformations of Volatile Anesthetics: 1,2,2,2-Tetrafluoroethyl Methyl Ether.” Tetrahedron: Asymmetry, 1999, 10:1099-1106.

L. A. Rozov, R. A. Lessor, L. V. Kudzma, and K. Ramig, “The Fluoromethyl Ether Sevoflurane as a Fluoride Source in Halogen-Exchange Reactions,” Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 1998, 88:51-54.

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS

K. Ramig “Asymmetric Fluoroorganic Chemistry” In P.V. Ramachandran (Ed.), Chiral Fluorinated Anesthetics American Chemical Society, 2000, pp. 282-292.

K.Ramig, D. Halpern “Asymmetric Synthesis and Resolutions of Fluorinated Volatile Anesthetics”  In V. Soloshonok (Ed.), Enantiocontrolled Synthesis of Fluoro-Organic Compounds: Stereochemical Challenges and Biomedicinal Targets John Wiley & Sons, 1999, pp. 451-468.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS last five years (* indicates a Baruch undergraduate student researcher)

Ramig, K. “The Flip of the Rings: Atropisomerism and Dynamic Stereochemistry in Medium-ring Nitrogen Heterocycles” Presentation at Queens College, City University of New York, 11/2013.

Mironova, I.*, Lavinda, O.*, Ramig, K., Ajiki, H., Massa, L., Karimi, S. “Reflectance Analysis and Thermochromicity of Fabrics Dyed with Indigo, 6-Bromoindigo, and 6,6’-Dibromoindigo, Components of the Ancient Dye Tyrian Purple” Presentation at the 60th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium sponsored by the ACS, SUNY College at Old Westbury, Old Westbury, New York, NY, 5/ 2012.

Ko, A.*, Dvorkin, N.*, Boulos, L.*, Gu, J.*, Ramig, K., Greer, E., Szalda, D. J., Karimi, S., Subramaniam, G. “NMR Spectroscopic and Computational Study of Conformational Mobility in 2,4-Diaryl-3H-1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the 60th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium sponsored by the ACS, SUNY College at Old Westbury, Old Westbury, New York, NY, 5/ 2012.

A. Ko*, N. Dvorkin*, L. Boulos*,  J. Gu*, K. Ramig, E. Greer, D. J. Szalda, S. Karimi, G. Subramaniam “NMR Spectroscopic and Computational Study of Conformational Mobility in 2-Aryl-3H-1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the Marie Curie Nobel Centennial Symposium, Baruch College, New York, NY, 11/11.

A. Ko*, N. Dvorkin*, L. Boulos*,  J. Gu*, K. Ramig, E. Greer, D. J. Szalda, S. Karimi, G. Subramaniam “NMR Spectroscopic and Computational Study of Conformational Mobility in 2-Aryl-3H-1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the 14th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, 10/11.

O. Lavinda*, K. Ramig, D. J. Szalda, Z. Koren and L. Massa “Crystal Structure and Thermochromic Studies of 6-Bromoindigo” Presentation at the 42nd National Organic Symposium, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 6/11.

N. Dvorkin*, L. Boulos*, J. Gu*, D. J. Szalda, E. M. Greer, K. Ramig  “Computational Analysis of Benzazepine Derivatives” Presentation at the New York Chemistry Students’ Association 59th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium,  College of Mt. Saint Vincent, Riverdale, NY, 5/7/11.

J. Gu*, L. Boulos*, N. Dvorkin*, D. J. Szalda, E. M. Greer, K. Ramig “Synthesis of 3-Alkyl-3H-1-benzazepines Via Deprotonation and Alkylation of a 3H-1-Benzazepine” Presentation at the New York Chemistry Students’ Association 59th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium,  College of Mt. Saint Vincent, Riverdale, NY, 5/7/11.

C. Missak*, A. Mannan*, J. Lam*, E. M. Greer, K. Ramig “Factors Influencing the Isomer Distribution of Substituted 1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the New York Chemistry Students’ Association 58th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium,  Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, 5/8/10.

J. Lam*, A. Mannan*, C. Missak*, E. M. Greer, K. Ramig “Unravelling the Mechanism of a One-flask Synthesis of Benzazepines” Presentation at the New York Chemistry Students’ Association 58th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium,  Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, 5/8/10.

N. H. Lo, H. Bramdat, S. Karimi, G. Subramaniam, K. Ramig “1H and 13C NMR Assignments and Conformational Studies of 3H-1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the 238th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Washington, D. C., 8/09.

N. H. Lo, S. Karimi, K. Ramig, G. Subramaniam “NMR Studies on the Conformational Exchange in 1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the 236th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 8/08.

N. H. Lo, S. Karimi, K. Ramig, G. Subramaniam “NMR Studies on the Conformational Exchange in 1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the 40th American Chemical Society Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting, Queensborough Community College, Queens, NY, 5/08.

K. Ramig, S. Alli*, M. Cheng*, R. Leung*, F. Mahir*, R. Razi*, M. Washington*, L. V. Kudzma “Synthesis of 3H-1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the 40th National Organic Symposium, Duke University, Durham, N. C., 6/07.

R. Razi*, S. Alli*, M. Cheng*, R. Leung*, F. Mahir*, M. Washington*, K. Ramig “Synthesis of Substituted 1-Benzazepines” Presentation at the New York Chemistry Students’ Association 55th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Manhattan College, Bronx, NY, 5/5/07.Close

Email: Baofu.Qiao@baruch.cuny.edu

Phone: 646-660-6218

Office: Rm 802B, 17 Lexington Avenue

Website

Baofu Qiao completed his bachelor’s degree in polymer chemical engineering in Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Ph.D. degree in polymer physics in the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, both in Beijing, China. After that, he has been working on a couple of projects on polyelectrolytes with Prof. Christian Holm in Germany and Prof. Monica Olvera de la Cruz at Northwestern University as postdoc. He joined Argonne National Laboratory as an assistant chemist to study rare earth elements separation and then returned Northwestern University as a research faculty on polymer-protein interactions. Baofu joined Baruch College as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2022.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Dr. Qiao is interested in the fundamental understanding of molecular interactions in soft materials (polymers, surfactants), biomaterials (proteins, peptides, lipids, DNA/RNA), and metal ions (rare earth elements, metalloproteins). Numerous computational approaches are employed, including atomistic simulations, coarse-grained simulations, machine learning, and DFT, as well as high-performance computing and programing.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Complete list available at Google Scholar

1. Origin of Proteolytic Stability of Peptide-Brush Polymers as Globular Proteomimetics

H. Sun,# B. Qiao,# W. Choi,# N. Hampu, N. McCallum, M. Thompson, J. Oktawiec, S. Weigand, O. Ebrahim, M. Olvera de la Cruz, and N. Gianneschi, ACS Cent. Sci. 2021, 7, 2063. (# contributed equally) (Supplementary cover)

2. Enhanced Binding of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein to Receptor by Distal Polybasic Cleavage Sites

B. Qiao and M. Olvera de la Cruz, ACS Nano 2020, 14, 10616.

3. Homopolymer Self-assembly of Poly(propylene sulfone) Hydrogels via Dynamic Noncovalent Sulfone-sulfone Bonding

F. Du, B. Qiao, T. Nguyen, M. Vincent, S. Bobbala, S. Yi, C. Lescott, V. Dravid, M. Olvera de la Cruz, and E. Scott, Nature Commun. 2020, 11, 4896.

4 Single Chain Heteropolymers Transport Proton Selectively and Rapidly

T. Jiang, A. Hall, M. Eres, Z. Hemmatian, B. Qiao, Y. Zhou, Z. Ruan, A.D. Couse, W.T. Heller, H. Huang, M. Olvera de la Cruz, M. Rolandi, and T. Xu, Nature 2020, 577, 216.

5. Water Follows Polar and Nonpolar Protein Surface Domains

B. Qiao, F. Jiménez-Ángeles, T. Nguyen, and M. Olvera de la Cruz, PNAS 2019, 116, 19274.

6. Random Heteropolymer Enables Protein Function in Foreign Environments

B. Panganiban, B. Qiao, T. Jiang, C. DelRe, M. Obadia, T. Nguyen, A. Smith, A. Hall, I. Sit, M. Crosby, P. Dennis, E. Drockenmuller, M. Olvera de la Cruz, and T. Xu, Science 2018, 359, 1239.

7. Comparative CHARMM and AMOEBA Simulations of Lanthanide Hydration Energetics and Experimental Aqueous-Solution Structures

B. Qiao,* S. Skanthakumar, and L. Solderholm,* J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2018, 14, 1781. (*corresponding author)

Email: orrette.wauchope@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: 646-660-6217
Office:  Rm 802A, 17 Lexington Avenue

Orrette was born in the coastal town of Montego Bay in northwest Jamaica. He completed his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY). After graduating, he moved to Maryland to pursue his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County working with Katherine Seley-Radtke. His Ph.D. work focused on the design, methodological development and the synthesis of chemotherapeutic agents possessing anticancer, antiviral and antiparasitic activities. Following his doctoral work, he joined the laboratory of Lawrence Marnett at Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, his work focused on understanding the chemistry and biology of the formation of DNA adducts that are derived from lipid and/or DNA peroxidation. These adducts can then be used as means of determining their roles in mutation and carcinogenesis. He joined the Baruch faculty as an assistant professor in the fall of 2017.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Wauchope is interested in understanding the chemical biology of quorum sensing (cell-cell communication) so as to decipher the bacterial lexicon. Quorum sensing has been implicated in several deleterious processes that are hallmarks of microbial infections in the body. Consequently, work in his lab is focused on developing chemical agents that disrupt this communication mechanism as well as to investigate the processing of the chemical signals that enable cell-cell communication.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Orrette R. Wauchope, Michelle M. Mitchener, William N. Beavers, James J. Galligan, Philip J. Kingsley, Thong Luong, Joshua P. Fessel, Lawrence Marnett. “Oxidative stress increases M1dG, a major peroxidation DNA adduct, in mitochondrial DNA.” Nucleic Acids Research, Just accepted, 2018.

James J. Galligan, Philip J. Kingsley, Orrette R. Wauchope, Michelle M. Mitchener, Jeannie M. Camarillo, James A. Wepy, Peter S. Harris, Kristofer S. Fritz, Lawrence J. Marnett. “Quantitative Analysis and Discovery of Lysine and Arginine Modifications.” Analytical Chemistry, 89, 2, 1299, 2017.

Orrette R. Wauchope, James J. Galligan, William N. Beavers, Michelle M. Mitchener, Philip J. Kingsley, Lawrence Marnett. “Nuclear Oxidation of a Major Peroxidation DNA Adduct, M1dG, in the genome.” Chemical Research in Toxicology, 28, 12, 2334, 2015.

Sarah Shuck, Orrette. R. Wauchope, Kristie Rose, Philip Kingsley, Carol Rouzer, Michael Shell, Norie Sugitani, Walter Chazin, I Zagollkapitte, O Boutaud, John Oates, James Galligan, William Beavers and Lawrence J. Marnett. “Protein modification by adenine propenal.” Chemical Research in Toxicology, 27, 10, 1732-1742, 2014.

Orrette R. Wauchope, Melvin Velasquez, Katherine Seley-Radtke. “Synthetic routes to a series of proximal and distal 2′-deoxy fleximers.” Synthesis, 22, 3496, 2012.

Orrette R. Wauchope, Cameron Johnson, Zhibo Zhang, Graciela Andrei, Robert Snoeck, Jan Balzarini, Katherine Seley-Radtke. “Synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of thieno-expanded tricyclic purine 2¢-deoxy nucleoside analogues.” Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 20, 9, 3009-3015, 2012.

Brittney Manvilla, Orrette Wauchope, Katherine Seley-Radtke, Alexander Drohat. “NMR Studies Reveal an Unexpected Binding Site for a Redox Inhibitor of AP Endonuclease 1.” Biochemistry, 50, 48, 10540-10549, 2011.

Orrette R. Wauchope, Matthew J. Tomney, Joseph L. Pepper, Brent E. Korba, Katherine Seley-Radtke. “Tricyclic 2′-C-Modified Nucleosides as Potential Anti-HCV Therapeutics.” Organic Letters, 12(20), 4466-4469, 2010.

Email: stefan.bathe@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6272
Address: 17 Lex, room 940

Stefan Bathe received his Ph. D. in experimental nuclear physics from the University of Muenster, Germany, in 2002.  He was a postdoctoral research scientist at the University of California, Riverside, from 2003-2007.  In 2008, he became a Scientific Staff Fellow of the RIKEN-BNL-Research Center at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL).  In 2010, Prof. Bathe joined the faculty of Baruch College as an Associate Professor.  From 2010 to 2015 he was jointly appointed as a Fellow of the RIKEN-BNL-Research Center at BNL.  In 2015, Prof. Bathe was promoted to Professor with Tenure.  He is also a faculty member of the PhD Program in physics at the CUNY Graduate Center.

RESEARCH

Prof. Bathe’s research interest is in experimental high-energy nuclear physics.  He is a member of the sPHENIX and PHENIX experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL), international collaborations of 500 scientists.  The experiments study a new phase of strongly interacting matter, dubbed the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), that emerges at extremely high temperature and density.  This is achieved by colliding heavy nuclei at relativistic energies and measuring the produced particles.

Prof. Bathe has worked on the measurement of neutral pions with electromagnetic calorimeters, which in 2001 led to the discovery of jet quenching in heavy ion collisions. Subsequently, his work focused on identifying D and B mesons through measurement of their decay vertex with the PHENIX Silicon Vertex Detector, providing insight into the mechanisms of energy loss of partons in the Quark-Gluon Plasma.  Prof. Bathe has taken leading roles in the experiment.  He served as Physics Working Group Convenor, Run Coordinator, Analysis Coordinator, and on the Executive Council and Institutional Board.

More recently, his group has assembled the sPHENIX Hadronic Calorimeter, and essential tool to measure jets.  Professor Bathe is currently the Run Coordinator for the inaugural data taking period of the experiment.

Prof. Bathe’s research is sponsored by a grant from the Department of Energy.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

“Creation of quark–gluon plasma droplets with three distinct geometries”,

C. Aidala (Michigan U.) et al., Nature Phys. 15 (2019) 3, 214-220

“Single electron yields from semileptonic charm and bottom hadron decays in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV”,

A. Adare et al., Phys. Rev. C 93, no. 3, 034904 (2016)

“Centrality dependence of high energy jets in p+Pb collisions at energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider”,

A. Bzdak, V. Skokov and S. Bathe, Phys. Rev. C 93, no. 4, 044901 (2016)

“Formation of dense partonic matter in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC: Experimental evaluation by the PHENIX collaboration”,

K. Adcox et al., Nucl. Phys. A 757, 184 (2005), 3353 citations

“Absence of suppression in particle production at large transverse momentum in 200 GeV [per nucleon pair] d + Au collisions”,

S. S. Adler et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 91, 072303 (2003), 602 citations

“Suppression of hadrons with large transverse momentum in central Au+Au collisions at 130 GeV [per nucleon pair]“,

K. Adcox et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 022301 (2002), 1162 citations

Find all of Prof. Bathe’s publications on inspirehep.net

Email: Etan.Bourkoff@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6232
Location: Rm 608a, 17 Lexington Ave

Dr. Bourkoff is Professor of Physics in the Department of Natural Sciences and former Director of the Baruch College Honors Program (1998-2002).  He received his B.S. and M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the University of California – Berkeley. His research areas have included the study of spurious oscillations in M-type backward-wave oscillators, antennas and rotary joints for microwave communication satellites, the dynamic behavior of semiconductor injection lasers, and dye laser mode-locking techniques. His current interests involve the generation and application of ultrashort laser pulses using novel mode-locking techniques, studies of femtosecond pulse compression, soliton propagation, and optical fiber sensors. He has approximately 75 publications in these various areas and has co-authored a book for freshmen engineering majors entitled Maple V for Engineers, published by Addison Wesley Longman, as a module in their Engineer’s Toolkit series.

Professional Honors

Selected as 1985 Presidential Young Investigator by the National Science Foundation

Listed in numerous biographical references, such as Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in the West, Who’s Who in Technology Today, Biography International, Personalities of the West and Midwest, American Men and Women of Science, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, and others.

Other Professional Activities

Reviewer for the National Science Foundation and IEEE
Chair, 1992 NSF Panel for Awarding Research Initiation Grants
Reviewer for Journal of Quantum Electronics, Optics Letters, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review, Applied Optics, Photonics Technology Letters.
NSF Combined Research-Curriculum Development Program, Panel Member

Selected Publications

“Absorber versus trap model in solitary semiconductor lasers,” (with X. Y. Liu), Journal of Applied Physics, 67, pp. 2168-2170 (1990).

“Generation of Dark Solitons Under CW Background using Waveguide EO Modulators,” (with W. Zhao), Optics Letters, 15, pp. 405-407 (1990).

(with W. Zhao) “Distributed Fiber Sensing using Nonlinearly-induced Polarization Coupling,” Optics Letters, 17, pp. 856-858 (1992).

(with W. Zhao) “Generation, Propagation, and Amplification of Dark Optical Solitons”, Journal of Optical Society of America B, 9, pp. 1134-1144 (1992).

(with W. Zhao) “Nonlinear Polarization Coupling and its Application to High Resolution Distributed Fiber Sensing,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 29, pp. 2198-2210 (1993).

(with E. M. Alford) “Building Community through Teamwork and Technology: Innovations in Freshman Engineering Courses,” 15th Annual Freshman Year Experience Conference, University of South Carolina, February 18-20 (1996).

(with D. B. Meade) Engineering Applications for the First Two Years, 1997 ASEE Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (June, 1997).

(with D. B. Meade) Maple V for Engineers, Engineer’s Toolkit Series, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-8053-36445-5, 154 pages (1998).

Email: scatto@gc.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6255
Location: Rm 502, 17 Lexington Ave

Sultan Catto, Ph.D., Yale University (Mathematical Physics), has made important contributions to the development of elementary particle physics particularly in the area of dynamical supersymmetry, and in mathematics in the areas of spectral theory of automorphic forms and octonionic projective geometries with applications to quantum mechanics. He is a professor and Executive Officer for the Ph.D. Program in Physics at the CUNY Graduate School, Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in Henry Krumb School of Mines, Columbia University, and Visiting Professor at the Rockefeller University.

Professor Catto was the U.S. winner of Mathematics competitions (Math Olympiads) and spent eight months research fellowship at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory. He is also on the permanent International Advisory Board of the “International Conferences on Differential Geometric Methods in Theoretical Physics”, “International Conferences on Symmetries and Strings,” and “International Wigner Symposia”, together with internationally renowned scientists and Nobel Laureates in physics and Fields Medalists in mathematics. He has had short term physics professorships at Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Academia Sinica (Chinese Academy of Sciences) in Beijing, and Nankai University in Tianjin, China and International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. He was a panel member on Hollywood and Science at International Hamptons Film Festival sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and is a permanent member of the International Counsel for Development of Science and Technology in Peru. He was awarded the “Benjamin W. Lee Prize” by the International School of Sub-Nuclear Physics (Ettore Majorana) in Sicily (referees were Nobel Laureates T.D. Lee, S. Glashow and E.P. Wigner), Italy, for his work on quark-diquark supersymmetry.

Research

Starting with a series of papers published between 1985 and the present, he and his collaborators (mainly Feza Gursey) exploited internal (dynamical) supersymmetries to construct a combined classification scheme for mesons and baryons. Theoretical models they developed led to existence of multiquark bound states which were recently grounded in experiments (for example a0 (980) and f0(975) are of this type).

More recently he is completing a book on “Algebraic Approaches to Particle Theory” with H.C. Tze of Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and VPI. The book deals with Relativistic Quark Models, Constraint Superalgebras, Supergroups in Critical Dimensions and Lattices Generated by Discrete Jordan Algebras. Another book on “Octonionic Structures in Physics” is near its completion (with Carlos J. Moreno at Baruch and CUNY graduate school). Other problems they are currently looking at are:

1. Conformal structures in D=4; Quaternion Analyticity.
2. Euclidean Instantons from Chiral Superfields (N=2), Connections to Statistical Mechanical Models, Yang-Mills Theories.
3. Hyperbolic Extensions of Exceptional Groups and Unified Field Theories
4. Uniform Treatment of Chiral Symmetry and SU(4) Symmetry of Nuclear Forces.
5. Quaternionic and Octonionic Structures in Physics: Possible Octonionic Basis for Internal Symmetries in Nature.”
6. Multiquark states, especially recent results on pentaquarks and associated phenomenology based on split octonionic algebra approach.Close

Email: Adrian.dumitru@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6244

Adrian Dumitru received his PhD in physics from the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Frankfurt University, Germany, in fall of 1997. He was a postdoctoral research scientist at Yale University from 04/1998 to 09/1999. This was followed by two postdoc positions at Columbia University in New York (1999-2001) and at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island (2001-2002). From 01/2003 until 07/2008 he held a position as Assistant Professor at the ITP, Frankfurt University before joining the Department of Natural Sciences at Baruch in august 2008. Until Aug. 2013 he was simultaneously appointed Associate Professor at Baruch College and a fellow of the RIKEN/BNL research center. He is since a Professor of Physics at Baruch College

RESEARCH

His research focuses on the physics of Quantum Chromodynamics, the theory of the strong interactions, at very high energies. The main motivation is to understand a primordial state of matter which emerges at temperatures exceeding 10¹² where ordinary hadrons melt into the fundamental constituents of matter, quarks and gluons. This new “quark-gluon plasma” state of matter existed in the early universe for about 1μsec after the Big Bang and can be recreated in the laboratory by colliding heavy ions such as lead or gold nuclei at relativistic energies.

Dr. Dumitru has worked on models for high-energy particle collisions, on effective theories for the deconfined phase of QCD in terms of Polyakov loops, on the dynamics of the chiral symmetry breaking phase transition in high-energy collisions which generates the mass of particles, and on the so-called “Color Glass Condensate” theory for the gluon distribution of hadrons and nuclei at very high energy. Recently, he has worked intensely on understanding the properties of bound states of heavy quarks and anti-quarks, such as the “bottom” quark, at high temperatures. The goal is to obtain deeper insight into one of the fundamental properties of QCD: that is, the confinement of quarks in the vacuum versus their “liberation” at high temperatures.

PUBLICATIONS
see SPIRES high-energy physics database.

Email: Ramzi.Khuri@baruch.cuny.edu

Phone: (646) 660-6234

Location: Rm 906F, 17 Lexington Ave

Ramzi Khuri is a Professor of Physics at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. He received his PhD in 1991 from Princeton University. He held postdoctoral fellowships at Texas A&M University, CERN in Geneva, McGill University and Queen Mary and Westfield College at the University of London before joining the Department of Natural Sciences at Baruch College in 1998. He received the New York City Mayor’s Young Investigator Award in 2001.

RESEARCH

Dr. Khuri’s research career has concentrated mainly on the study of black holes, solitons and duality in string theory. The main goal is to understand string theory as a theory of quantum gravity and unite the four fundamental interactions of nature. Such a unified picture emerges via the introduction of duality maps, which relate seemingly different theories in various limits, and in which these theories appear as different phases of the same underlying theory. This includes the quantum statistical-mechanical basis of the Bekenstein-Hawking black hole entropy formula from string theory and to a resolution of the Hawking radiation information paradox. He also devised string models to account for Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the accelerated expansion of the Universe.

More recently, Dr. Khuri has worked in the field of biophysics. He used a mean-field approximation to show the generic rapid collapse of denatured protein-like hetero-polymers from random walks to molten globule states, followed by a slow annealing process from molten globule state to final state, both features agreeing with experimental observations. In another paper, in collaboration with colleagues at Princeton, he derived a new, exact, analytic expression for cold denaturation of proteins under widely satisfied parametric conditions. Their results are in excellent agreement with experiment. They also proposed experiments to explore the thermal stability of proteins below the bulk freezing point of water. He is currently doing research on the physics of isosbestic points in biophysics, and the physics of tumor progression and immune evasion.

PUBLICATIONS

Ramzi R. Khuri, Trung V. Phan, and Robert H. Austin, Protein dynamics implications of the low- and high-temperature denaturation of myoglobin, Phys. Rev. E 104 (2021) 034414

Ramzi R. Khuri, Remark on Protein Collapse from a Random Walk, Physica A 533 (2019) 122071

Ramzi R. Khuri, Strings, Branes and an Accelerating Universe, Int. Jour. of Mod. Phys. A19 (2004) 631-654

Ramzi R. Khuri, Dark Matter as Dark Energy, Phys. Lett. B568 (2003) 8-10

Ramzi R. Khuri, Black Holes and Strings: the Polymer Link, Mod. Phys. Lett. A13 (1998) 1407-1411

Clifford V. Johnson, Ramzi R. Khuri and Robert C. Myers, Entropy of 4D Extremal Black Holes, Phys. Lett. B378 (1996) 78-86

Ramzi R. Khuri and Robert C. Myers, Dynamics of Extreme Black Holes and Massive String States, Phys. Rev. D52 (1995) 6988-6996

Michael J. Duff, Ramzi R. Khuri and Jianxin Lu, String Solitons, Physics Reports 259 Numbers 4 & 5 (1995) 213-326

Daniel Z. Freedman and Ramzi R. Khuri, The Wu-Yang Ambiguity Revisited, Phys. Lett. B329 (1994) 263-270

Ramzi R. Khuri, A Heterotic Multimonopole Solution, Nucl. Phys. B387 (1992) 315-332

Ramzi R. Khuri, Some Instanton Solutions in String Theory, Phys. Lett. B259 (1991) 261-266

Email: orland@nbi.dk

Email: Jamal.Jalilian-Marian@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: 646 660-6206

Location: Rm 936, 17 Lexington Ave

Website: http://faculty.baruch.cuny.edu/naturalscience/physics/Jalilian-Marian/

Emil Gernert, Jr., Ph.D., New York University (Physiology), is the author of articles on the physiology of mold Aspergillus. He was one of the highest rated teachers at Baruch College and advisor to the Biomedical Society a student club. Dr. Gernert advised students in honors and independent study. He chaired the Medical School Recommendation Committee. He launched the student advisement program of the department, and was instrumental in developing the upper level courses in the program.

Email: David.Szalda@baruch.cuny.edu
Phone: (646) 660-6218
Location: Room 802B, 17 Lexington Ave

David J. Szalda, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University (Chemistry), is a Research Collaborator at Brookhaven National Laboratory where he uses X-ray crystallography to study the binding of carbon dioxide to metal complexes and electron transfer reactions. His publications have appeared in various journals of chemistry. He is an advisor to students in the biomedical specialization.

Research

“The primary focus of my research is a better understanding of the basic chemical principles required to create an efficient and economical method to convert solar energy into a storable and transportable fuel. Therefore we are investigating electron transfer reactions and the binding of carbon dioxide to metal complexes in order to be able to store solar energy by converting carbon dioxide (an end product of combustion) into methane or methanol (a storable and transportable fuel). This work is done in collaboration with Drs. Norman Sutin, Carol Creutz, and Etsuko Fujitu at Brookhaven National Laboratory.”

Recent Publications (2012-Present)

Xie, Yan, David W. Shaffer, Anna Lewandowska-Andralojc, David J. Szalda, and Javier J. Concepcion, 2016, ” Water Oxidation by Ruthenium Complexes Incorporating Multifunctional Bipyridyl Diphosphonate Ligands “, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 55, 8067-8071.

Duan, Lele, Gerald F. Manbeck, Marta Kowalczyk, David J. Szalda, James T Muckerman, Yuichiro Himeda and Etsuko Fujita, 2016, ” Noninnocent Proton-Responsive Ligand Facilitates Reductive Deprotonation and Hinders CO2 Reduction Catalysis in [Ru(tpy)(6DHBP)(NCCH3)]2+ (6DHBP = 6,6′-(OH)2bpy)”, Inorganic Chemistry. 55, 4582-4594.

Ramig, Keith, Gopal Subramaniam, Sasan Karimi, David J. Szalda, Allen Ko, Aaron Lam, Jeffrey Li, Ani Coaderaj, Leyla Cavdar, Lukasz Bogdan, Kitae Kwon, Edyta M. Greer, 2016, “Interplay of Nitrogen-Atom Inversion and Conformational Inversion in Enantiomerization of 1H-1-Benzazeoines”, The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 81, 3313-3320.

Ngo, Ken; Lee, Nicholas; Pinnace, Sashari; Szalda, David; Weber, Ralph; Rochford, Jonathan, 2016, “Probing the non-innocent π-bonding influence of N-carboxyamidoquinolate ligands on the light harvesting and redox properties of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes”, Inorganic Chemistry. 55, 2460-2472.

Garg, Komal, Yasuo Matsubara, Mehmed Z. Ertem, Anna Lewandowska-Andralojc, Shunsuke Sato, David J. Szalda, James T. Muckerman, and Etsuko Fujita, 2015, ” Striking Differences of Properties of Two Geometric Isomers of [Ir(tpy)(ppy)H]+: Experimental and Computational Studies on their Hydricities, Interaction with CO2, and Photochemistry”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 54, 14128-14132.

Manbeck, Gerald; James Muckerman, David J. Szalda, Yuichiro Himeda and Etsuko Fujita, 2015, “Push or Pull? Proton Responsive Ligand Effects in Rhenium Tricarbonyl CO2 Reduction Catalysts”, The Journal of Physical Chemistry:Part B:Biophysical Chemistry, Biomaterials, Liquids, and Soft Matter. 119, 7457-7466.

Ramig, Keith, Olga Lavinda, David J. Szalda, Irina Mironova, Sasan Karimi, Federica Pozzi, , Nilam Shah , Jacopo Samson , Hiroko Ajiki, Lou Massa , Dimitrios Mantzouris, Ioannis Karapanagiotis , Christopher Cooksey, 2015, “The Nature of Thermochromic Effects in Dyeings with Indigo, 6- Bromoindigo, and 6,6′-Dibromoindigo, Components of Tyrian Purple”, 2015, Dyes and Pigments. 117, 37-48.

Concepcion, Javier J., Diane K. Zhong, David J. Szalda, James T. Muckerman and Etsuko Fujita, 2015, “Mechanism of water oxidation by [Ru(bda)(L)2]: the return of the ‘‘blue dimer’’”, Chemical Communications, 51, 4105-4108.

Ko, Allen, Aaron Lam, Jeffrey Li, Edyta M. Greer, David J. Szalda , Sasan Karimi, Gopal Subramaniam, Keith Ramig, 2014, “Regioselective alkylation reactions of 2,4-diphenyl-3H-1-benzazepine give either 3-alkyl-3H-1-benzazepines or 1-alkyl-1H-1-benzazepines”, Tetrahedron Letters, 55, 4386-4289.

Badiei, Yosra M., Wan-Hui Wang, Jonathan F. Hull, David J. Szalda, James T. Muckerman, Yuichiro Himeda, and Etsuko Fujita*, 2013, “Cp*Co(III) Catalysts with Proton-Responsive Ligands for Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation in Aqueous Media”, Inorganic Chemistry. 52, 12576-12586.

Ramig, Keith, Edyta M. Greer, David J. Szalda, Sasan Karimi, Allen Ko, Laura Boulos, Jiansan Gu, Nathan Dvorkin, Hema Bhramdat, and Gopal Subramaniam, 2013, “NMR Spectroscopic and Computational Study of Conformational Isomerism in Substituted 2-Aryl-3H-1-benzazepines: Toward Isolable Atropisomeric Benzazepine Enantiomers” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 78, 8028-8036.

Badiei, Yosra M., Dmitry E Polyansky, James T. Muckerman, David J. Szalda, Rubabe Haberdar, Ruifa Zong, Randolph P. Thummel, and Etsuko Fujita, 2013, “Water Oxidation with Mononuclear Ruthenium (II) Polypyridine Complexes Involving a Direct RuIV=O Pathway in Neutral and Alkaline Media” Inorganic Chemistry. 52, 8845-8850.

Zhoa, Helen C., Barbara Mello, Bi-Lu Fu, Hara Chaodhury, David J. Szalda, Ming-Hang Tsai, David C. Grills, and Jonathan Rochford, 2013, “A Structural Investigation of Monomeric Versus Dimeric fac-Rehenium(I) Tricarbonyl Systems Containing the Non-inocent 8-oxyquinolate Ligand.” Organometallics, 32:1832-1841.

Hayashi, Yukiko, David J. Szalda, David C. Grills, Jonathan Hanson, Kuo-Wei Huang, James T. Muckerman and Etsuko Fujita, 2013, “Isolation and X-ray Structures of Four RhPCP Complexes including the Rh(I) Dioxygen Complex with a Short O–O Bond”, Polyhedron, 58,106-114.

Karimi, Sasan, Keith Ramig, Edyta Greer, David J. Szalda, William F. Berkowitz, Prakash Prasad, Gopal Subramaniam, 2013, “Tandem ring-contraction/decarbonylation of 2,4-diphenyl-3H-1-benzazepine to 2,4-diphenylquinoline” Tetrahedron,69, 147-151.

Reddy, V. D., D. Dayal, D. J. Szalda, S. C. Cosenza and M.V.R. Reddy, 2012, “Synthesis, structures, and anticancer activity of novel organometallic ruthenium-maltol complexes”, Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, 700:180-187.

Ramig, Keith, Olga Lavinda and David J. Szalda, 2012, “Highly Stereoselective Decarboxylation of (+)-1-Bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoropropanoic Acid gives (+)-1-Bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane ((+)-Halothane) with Retention of Configuration.” Tetrahedron:Asymm. 23, 201-204.

Hull, Jonathan F., Yuichiro Himeda, Wan-Hui Wang, Brian Hashiguchi, David J. Szalda, James T. Muckerman and Etsuko Fujita, 2012, “Hydrogen Storage using CO2 and a Proton-Switchable Iridium Catalyst at Ambient Temperature and Pressure” Nature Chemistry 4, 383-388.

Szalda, David J., Keith Ramig, Olga Lavinda, Zvi C. Koren and Lou Massa, 2012, “6-Bromoindigo dye” Acta Cryst. C68,o160-o163.

All Publications