Professor Carlos Cabrera

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Professor Abimael Rodríguez

Email: abrodriguez@uprrp.edu

Phone: 787-764-0000 ext, 4799, 4800

Fax: 787-756-8242

Education

Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University, 1983.
Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT, 1983-1985.
Postdoctoral Associate, University of Hawaii, 1985-1987.

Fields of Interest

Organic Chemistry: Isolation, Structure, Elucidation and Synthesis of Marine Natural Products.

Research Description

Our project constitutes a unique effort to collect marine invertebrates (sponges, coelenterates, mollusks and tunicates) from the shallow and deep waters around Puerto Rico and its neighboring islands and to screen, isolate and determine the structure of new natural products from these organisms. Maximum efficiency and economy is achieved by combining field collection and pharmacological screening. Promising bioactive compounds are sent to research laboratories in the United States for advanced testing as potential pharmaceuticals. Major activities include the collection of marine animals to be studied from all the highly productive marine areas of Puerto Rico and its neighboring islands.

Professor Brad R. Weiner

E-mail: brad.hpcf@upr.edu

Education

NRC Postdoctoral Fellow, United States Naval Research Laboratory (1988)
Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of California, Davis (1986)

Research interests

Physical Chemistry: Gas Phase Molecular Reaction Dynamics; Laser Photochemistry and Photophysics; Gas Phase Kinetics of Reactive Intermediates; Non-Linear Photoprocesses; Molecular Energy Transfer; Mechanisms of Laser Ablation.

Assistant Professor Pasquale Fulvio

Office: FB 132
Phone: (787) 764-0000 Ext. 3501
E-mail: pasquale.fulvio@upr.edu

Education

2009 – PhD Degree: Chemistry Department, Kent State University, Kent-OH, USA. Advisor: Prof. Mietek Jaroniec

2009-2013 – Post-Doctoral Research: Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge-TN, USA. Mentor: Dr. Sheng Dai

2008-2009 – Pre-Doctoral Internship: Saint-Gobain NorPro, Stow-OH

Research interests

The research interests include the preparation and characterization of nanomaterials and composites for energy storage and conversion, for heterogeneous catalysis, and for separations. Materials syntheses include:

• Self-assembly of building blocks into hierarchical porous frameworks with tailored pore widths, geometries, active surface sites, and electronic properties
• Surface modification of nanomaterials using biocompatible surface groups
• Processing of biomass precursors for carbons with controlled morphology
• Design of novel organic precursors for carbon nanomaterials

Assistant Professor Vilmalí Lopez

Office: FB 123
E-mail: vilmali.lopez@upr.edu
Phone: (787) 764-0000

Education

2011 Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor under the advising of Adam J. Matzger

2008 M.S. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor under the advising of Adam J. Matzger

2006 B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras

Postdoc

2011-2013 Post-Doctoral Associate in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the supervision of Allan S. Myerson and Bernhardt L. Trout

Teaching Experience

2013-2014 Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Washington and Lee University, Lexington VA.

Research interests

Our research is focused in understanding heterogeneous nucleation mechanisms in order to control crystallization outcomes of industrially relevant materials. Our group works to design heteronucleation platforms and apply these in three major crystallization efforts: to gain understanding of the fundamental factors that affect nucleation in molecular compounds, to promote or inhibit heterogeneous nucleation, and to access, stabilize and deliver solid-forms for novel applications.

Assistant Professor Eduardo Nicolau

Office: Molecular  Sciences Research Building
Phone: (787) 523-5310
E-mail: eduardo.nicolau@upr.edu

Education

2012 – Ph. D. Analytical Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, Puerto Rico, USA

2005 – BS Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, Puerto Rico, USA

Postdoc

2012-2013 NASA Ames Research Center, California in collaboration with the NASA URC Center for Advanced Nanoscale Materials, Puerto Rico
Supervisor: Eng. Michael Flynn/Dr. Carlos R. Cabrera

Research interests

My research interests are mainly geared towards the analytical applications of bio-interfaced nanomaterials for catalysis, water purification and applied nanotechnology.

Projects include:

• Preparation of interfaced bionanomaterials for reactive water purification membranes
• Development of point-of-use sensors for the detection of emerging contaminants in water
• Synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials for electrooxidation of high-density fuels.

Undergraduate and Graduate students interested in my research work may send communication to provided contact information.

Associate Professor Jose Rivera

Email:  jmrivortz@mac.com
Phone: 787-764-0000 ext. 2906
Fax: 787 756 8242

External Lab Web Pagehttp://web.mac.com/jmrivortz/

Education

Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2000
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, The Scripps Research Institute 2000 – 2002

Research Interests

Supramolecular chemistry, molecular recognition, organic synthesis, nanotechnology, bioorganic chemistry, medicinal chemistry.

Research Focus

Our group focuses on using supramolecular chemistry as a tool for solving problems in biomedicine.

We are primarily focused on determining correlations between the molecular structure of various 8-aryl- and 8-heteroaryl-2’-deoxyguanosine (8ArGs and 8HetGs) derivatives and their supramolecular behavior. In particular, we aim to modulate the supramolecular properties such as molecularity, fidelity and stability of the resulting GQs.

Assistant Professor Marvin Bayro

Molecular Sciences Research Building
E-mail: marvin.bayro@upr.edu
Phone: +1 (787) 523-5326 
Homepage: https://nmrvin.wordpress.com/

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow. National Institutes of Health. Bethesda, MD.
PhD in Physical Chemistry. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge. MA.
BA in Chemistry and Physics. Rutgers University. New Brunswick, NJ.

Research Interests

– Biophysical Chemistry: protein structure and dynamics
– Solid-state NMR Spectroscopy: methodology and applications
– Structural Virology: understanding HIV particle formation
– Biomaterials: protein stability and interactions with nanocomposites

Assistant Professor Dalice Piñero

Office: FB 135-C
Phone: (787) 764-0000
E-mail: dalice.pinerocruz@uprrp.edu
dalicempinero@gmail.com

Education

2009 – Ph. D. from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, Puerto Rico, USA

2001 – BS in Natural Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, Puerto Rico, USA

Postdocs

2009-2010 CNRS-Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux, France. Supervisor: Corine Mathonière

20010-2011 Institut de Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, Université de Rennes, France. Supervisor Marc Fourmigué

2011-2012 CNRS-Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS Bordeuax, France. Supervisor: Rodolphe Clérac

Research interests

• Molecular Magnets and Nanomaterials for applications in memory devices following a Rotationally-Oriented Ligand Design (ROLD) approach
• Synthesis of Novel Non-toxic Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agents from protected Metallo-dithiolenes.
  Students interested in working on these projects may send their CV to the contact information.

Assistant Professor Riccardo Papa

Assistant Professor Carlos I. González

Assistant Professor Torsten Stelzer

Professor Kai Hans Griebenow

Office: FB-215
Phone: (787) 908-6404
E-mail: kai.griebenow@gmail.com

Education

Ph.D. University of Duesseldorf (1992)
Postdoc, MIT, 1993-1996

Research interests

Structure-guided protein encapsulation, non-aqueous enzymology, protein formulation, protein stability, protein glycosylation, relationship between protein structural dynamics and enzyme activity, PEG modification of proteins, bio-fuel cells.

Research focus
Research in our laboratory typically involves exploration of interdisciplinary subjects involving protein biochemistry as one main aspect. 

Assistant Professor Arthur Tinoco

Office: NCN-224
Phone: (787) 764-0000 ext. 4846
E-mail: atinoco9278@gmail.com
Homepage: http://tinocolab.weebly.com/

Education

Ph.D. in Bioinorganic Chemistry from Yale University (2007)
-Advisor: Ann M. Valentine

Postdoc at Harvard University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (2012)
-Advisor: Alan Saghatelian

Research interests

Bioinorganic Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Metals in Biology, Studying small molecule mimics of metal-based enzymes, Development of new drug design strategies for metal-based therapeutics, Peptide-based drug delivery systems, Mass spectrometry based ‘omics’ studies for elucidating the mechanism of action of therapeutics

Assistant Professor 

Darlene Santiago

Office: Annex Door 321 Third Floor School of Pharmacy Building Medical Sciences Campus University of Puerto Rico PO Box 365067 San Juan, PR 00936-5067

Phone: 787-758-2525 Ext. 5313 Fax: 787-754-6995 darlene.santiago@upr.edu

E-mail: darlene.santiago@upr.edu

Education

2006 – Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, 2012. B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

Research interests

The research group focuses on the viscoelastic characterization of pharmaceutical melt formulations with the purpose of linking the viscoelasticity of the melt with its processing behavior when compounded using Hot Melt Extrusion (HME).

Professor Carmen Cadilla

Office phone(787) 758-2525 ext. 1638

E-mail: carmen.cadilla@upr.edu

Education

1980-1982 :Instructor, Dept. of Physical Sciences, Faculty of General Studies, UPR, Río Piedras Campus.
1986-1987 :Postdoctoral Fellow-NCI Carcinogenesis Training Program, UT-ORGSBMS/ORNL
1987-1989 : Postdoctoral Fellow-American Cancer Society, UT-ORGSBMS/ORNL
1990-1995 :Assistant Professor, UPR, Medical Sciences Campus, Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, School of Medicine. Tenure: September 1994.
1995-1996 :Associate Professor, UPR, Medical Sciences Campus, Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, School of Medicine.
1996-present : Associate Professor, UPR, Medical Sciences Campus, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine.
2000-present : Director, MBRS-RISE Program, UPR, Medical Sciences Campus
2001-present : Professor, UPR, Medical Sciences Campus, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine

Research interests

I am interested in human genetic disorders that impact the PR population, regulation of gene expression, and structure-function studies of proteins.

Professor Orestes Quesada

E-mail: quesada.orestes@gmail.com

Research Interest

Many health conditions like Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease have been linked with malfunctions of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). Our goal is to determine the proper detergent conditions for nAChR extraction that lead to a functional and stable receptor for crystallization. To achieve this goal, the lipid composition of both native Torpedo tissue and each of the detergent-solubilized nAChR preparations that yield functional receptors will be analyzed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) to determine the cholesterol, phospholipid head group, and acyl composition in the detergent-solubilized nAChR. These experiments will provide the information required for a comprehensive lipid-based study based on correlations with functional activity of the detergent extracted nAChRs.