Faculty Research Interests
Professor & Chair
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Dr. Bayse’s research projects use computational chemistry to examine the interplay of trace elements such as selenium, zinc, iodine and arsenic as they prevent or promote healthy function in connection to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and thyroid function. Through an atom-level theoretical approach, his research group has proposed new mechanisms for biological activity that have later been proven experimentally and may lead to new treatments for chronic illness.
Assistant Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Organometallics, Catalysis, Synthesis
Professor & Eminent Scholar
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
molecular spectroscopy, atmospheric remote sensing, molecular astronomy
Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Dr. Cooper’s research focuses on the design of instrumentation and novel processing algorithms and Chemometrics for applications in industrial process control. Projects include the development of an automated NIR fuel analyzer and a handheld Raman analyzer providing fluorescent-free spectra for pharma quality control.
Senior Lecturer
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
My group studies host-pathogen interactions between the anaerobic pathogen C. difficile and the human gut. We employ cell biological and biochemical techniques including CRISPR gene editing and a variety of high-resolution, live-cell imaging modalities to understand the mechanism of bacterial colonization and epithelium disruption during infection.
Assoc Prof & Assoc Dean
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
1. Protein Chemistry2. Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering3. Bioinformatics and Genomics4. Protein Evolution5. Biophysics: Multidimensional heteronuclear NMR, Real-time 1D NMR & Photo-CIDNP, Circular dichroism & Fluorescence spectroscopy (equilibrium & stopped flow); Quenched flow HX.
Professor and Batten Endowed Chair in Physical Sciences
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Organic geochemistry of coal, kerogen, and humic substances. Study of kerogen formation, coalification, and humification processes. Emphasis on the study of organic macromolecules associated with plant materials, humic substances and fossil fuels. Study of the interaction of pollutants with natural organic matter in soils, and marine sediments. Studies of the chemistry and reactivity of dissolved organic matter in atmospheric, ice, lacustrine, riverine, and oceanic systems. Studies of the generation of alternative fuels from algal biomass.
Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
His area of research revolves around biological and inorganic chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, and inorganic reaction mechanisms.
Assistant Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Synthetic Methods, Natural Product Synthesis, Reaction Mechanisms, Computational Chemistry; Dr. Lambert's research interests are in the development of novel synthetic methods and the total synthesis of biologically relevant natural products. Our interest lies in the development of robust methodologies, particularly those involving transition metal and nitroxide catalysts, to access the complex architectures found within natural products, as well as, core structural motifs that are of interest to both medicinal and synthetic chemists. We have an additional interest in gaining a fundamental understanding of the mechanistic underpinnings of our developed chemistry, and often employ both experimental and computational methods to do so.
Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Advanced Biochar Chemistry, Synthetic Biology, Advanced Biofuels, and Bioenergetics Research
Professor & Assoc Dean For Research
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Dr. Mao joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Old Dominion University in 2006. As both a biogeochemist and a solid-state NMR specialist, Dr. Mao's primary research interest is the development and application of advanced solid-state NMR techniques for characterizing two kinds of complex natural organic matter (NOM) samples: (1) environmentally/geochemically-related NOM such as organic matter from soil, water, sediment, and organic wastes, and (2) energy-related organic matter such as kerogen, coal, corn stover and its residues, and biochars. He has developed, modified and applied many advanced solid-state NMR techniques for elucidating NOM structures and proposed a systematic approach to characterizing NOM. Dr. Mao is considered as a pioneer in this area in the world.
Odurf Research Assistant Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
My research interests are: (1) The study of the kinetics of mechanochemical reactions toward the elucidation of their chemical mechanisms. (2) The mechanochemical synthesis of binary and ternary organic co-crystals with potential ferroelectric properties, and their solid-state characterization using single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction methods and other solid-state techniques. (3) To apply and advance direct-space methods to solve molecular crystal structures from X-ray powder diffraction data.
Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Combining NMR techniques with Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and bioinformatics to determine protein and nucleic acid structure.
Associate Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Dr. Poutsma’s group focuses on the application of computational chemistry to problems in organic, inorganic and biochemistry. Currently, the organic projects involve calculating the proton affinities of peptides, the mechanisms of mass spectrometry fragmentation and the mechanisms of peptide hydrogen/deuterium exchange. The goal of these projects is to expand our understanding of peptide fragmentation in order to improve the software used to predict protein sequence from mass spectrometry data. The inorganic project involves calculating the mechanisms of small aluminumoxide clusters with methane. The biochemistry projects focus on protein folding and are in conjunction with Dr. Lesley Greene of ODU.
Associate Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
small molecule signaling contributing to virulence and persistence in Clostridium difficile
Associate Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Dr. Ramjee’s research group synthesizes and characterizes inorganic/organic nanocapsules (containers of nanoscale dimensions) for uses as bio-imaging agents, drug delivery vehicles, nano-reactors, sensors, and catalysts.
Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Dr. Wang’s research centers on developing novel organic synthesis methods for the effective and practical synthesis of biologically active compounds and biomaterials. In particular, they have synthesized enzyme inhibitors and nature product analogs (used as an anticoagulant and antimicrobial agents), developed novel asymmetric synthetic methods for the synthesis of chiral drugs, and designed and synthesized novel molecular gelators that can form supramolecular gels in organic solvents and aqueous solutions (soft biomaterials for research in biomedicine and tissue engineering).
Professor in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences & Biomedical Engineering
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Interests
Dr. Xu has directed NSF and NIH funded nanoscale interdisciplinary research programs, aiming to develop and apply cutting-edge bionanotechnologies and ultrasensitive detection tools to address most challenging questions in biomedical and nano sciences. Her research program lies at the interface of Chemistry, Biology and Engineering as described at http://ww2.odu.edu/~xhxu/research.html
Chesapeake Bay Program
The Chesapeake Bay Program at Old Dominion University (ODU) collects data to support the objectives of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to restore the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Program, initiated in 1985, is a multi-purpose program that includes long-term studies conducted by ODU. The objective is to characterize the present state of the Bay, determine long-term trends, and provide insights into ecological interactions. The program provides information necessary to measure effectiveness of point and non-point source programs in reducing nutrient input to the Bay and determine progress towards achievement of living resources and water quality habitat goals. This program also provides data for calibration/validation/verification of computer simulation models used for developing Chesapeake Bay restoration strategies.
The primary goals of the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Program are:
To characterize the environmental health of regional areas of the Lower Chesapeake Bay. To conduct trend analyses on long-term data to relate temporal trends in the living resources to changes in water and/or sediment quality. To warn of environmental degradation by producing an historical data base that will allow annual evaluations of biotic impacts. The Chesapeake Bay Program at ODU provides technical support for the research community in the form of specialized facilities, state-of-the-art equipment and high quality analytical and operational services. The four research laboratories are the Benthic Ecology Laboratory, Phytoplankton Laboratory, and the Water Quality Laboratory. Moreover, we provide new research opportunities for faculty members and students throughout the University, particularly in the areas of mission-oriented and multi-disciplinary environmental research. Learn More