AMIT BASU, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- B.A. Reed College with Patrick McDougal
- Ph.D. from University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign with Peter Beak
- Post-doc at Princeton University with Daniel Kahne
Amit Basu grew up eating the local cuisine in Kobe, Japan; Tehran, Iran; Poona, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Singapore, and likes his steaks very, very, very, well done. He finished his IB diploma requirements at the United World College of Southeast Asia, where he studied the chemistry of sewage treatment for his extended essay. He is not a fan of Asterix comics written AND illustrated by Albert Uderzo. His initial foray into online education was highly successful, as he learned to juggle by watching YouTube videos. His Dancing With The Professors (DWTP) BollywoodTango was considered the bacon of dances – it sizzled and left you wanting more. To compensate for his complete lack of both a sweet tooth and green thumb, he and the students that comprise the Basu lab use chemical and biological tools to study carbohydrates in biological systems, including the plant cell wall.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
sebastian_rueda@brown.edu
SEBASTIAN RUEDA, 5th year Ph.D. candidate
Sebastian Rueda was born and raised in Rhode Island. He attended the University of Rhode Island for his undergraduate studies where he performed research in polymer chemistry and organic synthesis with Prof. Matthew Kiesewetter. In his free time, he enjoys biking (both with and without Jameson), running, and playing soccer. When he’s not cooking it up in the lab, he is also known to whip up exquisite provisions, like his world-famous braised short rib. He has recently decided to train for a triathlon. When questioned why, he responded, “for the lore”. Sebastian’s project is focused on the synthesis of novel probes used to study proteoglycans in the plant cell wall, as well as glycoconjugates used to gain a deeper understanding of carbohydrate recognition.
jameson_pommenville@brown.edu
JAMESON POMMENVILLE, 2nd year Ph.D. student
Jameson Pommenville is from North Attleboro, MA and obtained his B.S. in Chemistry at Rhode Island College under the tutelage of Prof. Elizabeth Kiesewetter. When he is not hosting lab dance parties (consisting of the greatest hits of the 1970’s), he likes to spend his time biking on the East Bay bike path, with his future goal to bike the entire length of the smallest state (and back!). During a trip to California, he was accidentally introduced into the world of ordering his steak rare, and could not fathom someone opting for it well done after that. His most recent adversity lies at the inability to justify the purchase of an espresso machine, as he fears his inability to control impulsive seven dollar coffee purchases. In the lab, he works on the synthesis of antibacterial glycosyl triazoles as well as investigating CH-pi interactions of carbohydrates.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
LINDA KEBICHI, ’25
Linda Kebichi is from Lexington, MA and is currently pursuing her Sc.B. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Brown alongside a certificate in Migration Studies. In her free time she enjoys walking around the Providence Flea Market, drinking vanilla lattes with oat milk at Coffee Exchange, and listening to music on the Main Green. When she’s not reading peer-reviewed journal articles, Linda can be found reading lots of Mary Oliver and Sylvia Plath. In the lab, she is currently investigating glycoconjugate interactions by synthesizing thioglycerol conjugates with relatively high association constants.
COLIN BAVIBIDILA, ’26
Colin Bavibidila is from Rochester, NY, and is concentrating in Chemistry on the chemical biology track. Colin is also an EMT and a lifeguard! Some of his hobbies include playing club basketball, running, working out, tutoring, and traveling.
NATHAN VUONG, ’27
Nathan Vuong is from Arcadia, California (near Los Angeles). He is a pre-med student planning to concentrate in Chemistry. By participating in research, he hopes to learn more about the intersection between chemistry and medicine. He enjoys making dad jokes, and is an avid pianist and cellist. Nathan also (although he hates to admit it) spends a lot of time playing Pokemon and scrolling through Youtube, which most of the time results in watching a NileRed video or various gaming videos. He can also be regularly found eating Andrews pizza and studying in the Rock, and is easily recognizable proudly sporting Dodgers and Lakers merch.
CLAIRE SONG, ’27
Claire Song is from California, planning to concentrate in Applied Math-Bio. She loves drinking boba, running, and searching for new study spots on campus.
GROUP ALUMNI
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Position immediately after Brown University shown below
17. Raghuraj Hoshing (5/18 – 8/22) Ph.D. 2022 An Improved Understanding of the Yariv Reagent – A Plant Proteoglycan Binding Dye. Sales Specialist, Avantor
16. Janet Muzulu (12/16 – 8/21) Ph.D. 2021 A Molecular Study of Carbohydrate Recognition Using NMR. Scientist, Sanofi
15. Michael Saladino (6/16 – 12/18) M.Sc. 2019 A Rational Design Strategy to Improve the Potency of Third Generation Diamide Inhibitors Against GH73 N-Acetylglucosaminidases and Interrogating Yariv Reagent Properties in Solution. Process Chemist, Eurofins
14. Blaise Leeber (1/13 – 1/18) Ph.D. 2018 An investigation of carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions using glycopolymers and supramolecular glycoconjugates as multivalent model systems. Chemist, Sika
13. Philip Lukulay (1/12 – 9/16) Ph.D. 2017 Synthesis, Diol Binding and Structural Elucidation of a Novel Class of Boronic Acid Hydrazone Compounds & Understanding the Rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) Dimer via synthesis of RG-II glycosyl residues and Quantifying Their Binding Interactions With Boric Acid using 11B NMR Spectroscopy
12. Helene Kuhn (1/11 – 12/15) Ph.D. 2015 Synthesis of N-acetylglucosamine triazoles as antimicrobial compounds and galactose analogues to study plant cell wall development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Science Editor, Journal of Visualized Experiments
11. Marius Dräger (1/11 – 6/15) Ph.D. 2015 Oligosaccharide synthesis through controlled oligomerization. Post-doc, Providence College
10. Ronald Okoth (12/09 – 8/14) Ph.D. 2014 Probing carbohydrate – carbohydrate interactions using end-labeled glycopolymers and the determination of deuterium isotope shifts of selected methyl D-glycosides in methanol. Assistant Professor, Georgia College and State University
9. Jingsha Zhao (12/06 – 8/11) Ph.D. 2011 Study of carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions using carbohydrate coated fluorescent silica nanoparticles. M.B.A. Program, Dartmouth College
8. Dezhi Fu (12/04 – 5/06) M.Sc. 2007 – Synthesis of glycodendrimers for probing carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, University of Pittsburg
7. Xiang Liu (12/04 – 8/09) Ph.D. 2009 Conjugates of gold nanoparticle and cross-linked polynorbornenes: Enhancement of nanoparticle stability and templated synthesis of polymer nanocapsules. Post-doc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6. Navin Rajagopalan M.Sc. 2006 Part 1: Interactions of simple carbohydrate-aromatic systems via NMR spectroscopy: Molecular recognition of mono- and di-saccharides; Part 2: Design and synthesis of modular linkers for nanoparticle templating and polymer nanoshell creation
5. Nicole Seah (4/04 – 5/09) Ph.D. 2009 Modeling carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions using Langmuir monolayers and glycodendrimers. Post-doc, Brown University
4. Marianne Rangin (12/02 – 10/04) M.Sc 2004 Detection of lipopolysaccharides and bacteria with polydiacetylenic liposomes. Research Scientist, Wyeth
3. Chris Whelan (9/02 – 5/04) M.Sc. 2004 Bio-organic interactions: A PDB database analysis of the interactions between aromatic amino acids and sugars and an NMR study of the binding of boronic acids to cis,cis-1,3,5-cyclohexane triol. Instructor, West Point
2. Lauren Dufort (1/01 – 7/06) Ph.D. 2006 Synthesis and evaluation of b-glycosyl-1,2,3-triazole derivatives as b-glycosidase inhibitors. Post-doc, Boston University
1. Paul Santacroce (8/99 – 3/05) Ph.D. 2006 I. Development of new assays for probing carbohydrate-carbohydrate Interactions using glycolipid monolayers; II. Insights into the fine specificity and minimal valency of carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions obtained with glycolipid micelles and glycodendrimers. Post-doc, University of Maryland
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
41. Claire Hightower ‘24 Sc.B. Biochem Exploring Stereochemical and Structural Influences on NMR Peak Intensity in Multivalent Thioglycerol Conjugates: Implications for Glycoconjugate Design and Biological Activity
40. Jaehun Seo ‘24 Sc.B. Chem A Spectral Dialogue with an Introverted Yariv Reagent
39. Ainsley Baker ‘23 Sc.B. Chem Novel CH-π Interactions of Polyethylene Glycols and Crown Ethers with Biological Aromatic Compounds. Research Associate, Yale Medical School
38. Maisy Meyer ’22 Sc.B. Chem Investigating Trehalose Derivatives as a Potential Treatment for Preeclampsia. M.D. Program, Mount Sinai
37. Lucas Sanchez ’21 Sc.B. Chem Denaturing Plastic: Polycarbonate Degradation via Enzyme Catalysis. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, Stanford University
36. Keerthi Sreenivasan ’21 Sc.B. Chem Synthesis and Analysis of Novel Yariv Reagent Derivatives. M.D. program, University of Michigan
35. Kaushik Yeturu ’21 Sc.B. Chem Synthesis of Benzene-Like Compounds from Furan Derivatives using Diels-Alder Reactions. M.D. Program, Mount Sinai
34. Nola Iwasaki ’20 Sc.B. Chem Combatting Antibiotic Resistance with Small Molecule Inhibitors of Bacteria Cell Wall Recycling and Investigating their Conformational Isomerism. MFA Program (Poetry), Oregon State University
33. Cadence Pearce ’19 Sc.B. Chem Synthesizing Antimicrobials; Making and Modifying a Diamide Compound via a Convertible Isocyanide. Research Associate, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
32. David Ryffel ’19 Sc.B. Chem Investigating Carbohydrate-Carbohydrate Interactions with NMR Spectroscopy. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
31. Megan Hauptman ’18 Sc.B. Biochem Elucidating the Precise Nature of CH-𝜋 Bonds Through Use of the Hofmeister Series. M.D. Program, University of Michigan
31. Nancy Zhou ’17 Sc.B. Chem Small Molecule Inhibitors of Autolysins in Staphylococcus aureus
30. Brandon Dale ’17 A.B. Ethnopharmacognosy Elucidating the Binding Mechanism of Arabinogalactan and Yariv Phenylglycosides through Radial Diffusion Assays and Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy. M.D. Program, Mount Sinai
29. Nataliya Palaychuk ’17 Sc.B. Chem Synthesis of an Achiral Yariv Reagent: Elucidating Structural Features that Contribute to AGP Binding. M.D. Program, New York University
28. Salina Moon ’17 Sc.B. Chem Exploration of p-methoxyphenyl isocyanide as a convertible isocyanide in Ugi compounds via cleavage by CAN
27. Mitchel Jamieson ’16 Sc.B. Chem Achieving bacteriostasis using diamide inhibitors of bacterial GlcNAcases. Scientist, BASF
26. Sarah Weingarten ’15 Sc.B. Biochem Use of radial diffusion gel assays to characterize interactions between gum arabic arabinogalactan proteins and Yariv reagents. MPH, Yale University
25. Mary O’Connor ’16 Sc.B. Chem Bacteriostatic Agents Targeting Cell Wall Autolytic Enzymes. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, University of Colorado Boulder
24. Ethan Magno ’15 Sc.B. Chem Small Molecule Inhibitors of Bacterial Autolysins. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, Harvard University
23. Robert Lusi ’15 Sc.B. Chem Synthesis of β-D-Glycosyl Yariv Reagents Using Acetyl-Protected Precursors. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, University of California Berkeley
22. Conan Huang ’15 Sc.B. Engineering Developing polydiactylene-based vesicles for sensing applications
21. David Caianiello ’14 Sc.B. Chem Use of circular dichroism spectroscopy to examine aggregation of the Yariv reagents. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, Yale University
20. Jordan Beck ’14 Sc.B. Chem Synthesizing β-1,3 Oligogalactans. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, California Institute of Technology
19. Harry Wanar ’13 Sc.B. Chem Multifunctional Polyethylene Glycols Through ADMET Polymerization and Thiol‐ene Click Chemistry
18. Kachapol Sinprasert ’13 Sc.B. Chem Diversity-Oriented Synthesis of Glycosidase Inhibitors via the Ugi Reaction and “Click” Chemistry
17. Cyril Gary ’12 Sc.B. Chem Boronic Acid Carbohydrate Sensors. M.D. Program, Yale University
16. Emily Hartman ’12 Sc.B. Chem An analysis of two b-galactosidases essential for pollen tube growth. Clapp prize for outstanding thesis. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, University of California Berkeley
15. Madeleine Heldman ’11 Sc.B. Chem Click it or ticket: Copper catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloadditions in the generation of glycosidase inhibitors and the detection of M. tuberculosis. M.D. Program, Northwestern University
14. Spencer Clark ’11 Sc.B. Chem Make it short and sweet: a chemical approach to the study of b-galactosidase activity in pollen tube growth. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, Stanford University
13. Shannon Stone ’10 Sc.B. Chem A spoonful of azidosugar – studying the carbohydrates of pollen tubes using metabolic oligosaccharide engineering. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, California Institute of Technology
12. Jason Becker ’09 Sc.B. Chem You are what you eat: A forward chemical genetics approach to elucidating the role of glycoside hydrolases in pollen tube elongation. M.A. Education, Brown University
11. Shane Mulligan ’09 Sc.B. Chem Developing a cost-efficient synthesis of biomass-derived polymer nanocapsules. Consultant, Health Advances
10. Olivia Partyka ’07 Sc.B. Chem Synthesis and characterization of functionalized glass slides
9. Keriann Backus ’07 Sc.B. Chem Synthesis, structures, and spectroscopy of 1,2,3-triazoles with nickel(II), copper(II) and cobalt(II). Chemistry Ph.D. Program, Oxford (UK)/NIH
8. Dong-In Koo ’06 Sc.B. Chem Model studies of arene-carbohydrate interactions. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, Scripps
7. Walrati Limapichat ’05 Sc.B. Chem Molecular Lego: Clicking molecules to gold nanoparticles. Clapp prize for outstanding thesis. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, California Institute of Technology
6. Omar Ahmad ’05 Sc.B. Chem Synthesis of crosslinked, hollow nanometer-sized shells. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5. Courtney Yuen ’03 Sc.B. Chem Synthesis of a plasmin inhibitor and synthesis of a perglycosylated cyclodextrin for use in probing carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, Harvard University
4. Matthew Salzler ’02 Sc.B. Biochem Synthesis of galactocerebroside and glucocerebroside analogs and biochemical analysis of galactocerebroside, cerebroside sulfate, and their analogs. M.D. Program, Columbia University
3. Nicholas Agard ’02 Sc.B. Chem Steps toward the synthesis of a polyvalent boronic acid for use in sugar detection. Chemistry Ph.D. Program, University of California Berkeley
2. Katherine Winne ’01 Sc.B. Chem The synthesis of chiral bispidines for enantioselective reactions
1. Ana Luisa Perdigoto ’01 Sc.B. Chem Approaches towards the synthesis of tricosa-2,4-diynoic acid. M.D. Program, Vanderbilt University