Departments Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Jared Auclair

Director of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Associate Teaching Professor, Director of Biopharmaceutical Analysis Training Laboratory

Shellaina Gordon, a biochemistry student at Northeastern, is the recipient of a Goldwater Scholarship to support her pursuit of a career in medicine and science. Photo courtesy Shellaina Gordon

Black people are underrepresented in medical research. She wants to change that.

For as long as Shellaina Gordon can remember, her understanding of ‘research’ has conjured images of white laboratory coats and test tubes. But she never saw anyone who looked like her. Gordon, a biochemistry student at Northeastern, has won a Goldwater Scholarship to support her pursuit of a career in medicine and science.

by Khalida Sarwari June 24, 2020

Oyinda Oyelaran is a teaching professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Science. Photo courtesy Oyinda Oyelaran

How teaching organic chemistry can be like teaching a foreign language

For most of her life, Oyinda Oyelaran never expected she’d be a teacher. That all changed when she had the opportunity to mentor an undergraduate student during her postdoctoral fellowship. This year, Oyelaran was selected as one of two faculty to receive Northeastern University’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

by Molly Callahan March 27, 2020

Alexandros Makriyannis, George D. Behrakis Chair of pharmaceutical biotechnology, recently imaged the full structure of cannabinoid receptor type 2, one of the two proteins responsible for the effects of cannabinoids in the body. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Cannabis will transform medicine—once we figure out how to get rid of its side effects

To produce better drugs for chronic pain, mental illness, and other health problems, Northeastern professor Alexandros Makriyannis is making new molecules in the lab—the same kind that give people a high when they smoke marijuana.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa February 19, 2020

A house made out of a plastic-like material created by bacteria in Neel Joshi's lab. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Could houses of the future be made by bacteria?

Imagine if we could grow a building the way coral polyps grow a reef, or if living cells in our clothes could break down sweat and body odor. It’s not science fiction, says associate professor Neel Joshi. It’s the future of scientific research in the U.S.

by Laura Castañón February 5, 2020

Steven A. Lopez is an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Science at Northeastern. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

He’s training computers to find new molecules with the machine learning algorithms used by Facebook and Google

Using the same techniques that help social media algorithms learn about you, Northeastern assistant professor Steven Lopez is training machine learning algorithms to find millions of new molecules and help make materials for cancer therapy, renewable energy, and other important technologies.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa January 6, 2020

Former graduate student Camille Martin, working with Northeastern chemistry and chemical biology professor Leila Deravi, has synthesized a chemical found in the skin of longfin squid. The goal? To recreate the animal's natural sun-blocking ability. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Synthetic squid can save you from sunburn

There’s nothing worse than a sunburn. Actually, there is—the potential damage that sunscreen can do to our bodies and the environment. …

by Aria Bracci September 25, 2019

The hunt for a cure for hard-to-reach cancers

Steven Lopez, an assistant professor of chemistry at Northeastern, is searching for molecules that could help create light-based treatments for larger cancers or those in hard-to-reach areas, such as the brain.

by Laura Castañón September 9, 2019

Penny Beuning and Mary Jo Ondrechen, Northeastern professors of chemistry and chemical biology, are developing new ways to predict the function of an enzyme by looking at the roles of the individual amino acids that make up its structure. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

They want to reveal the chemistry of every enzyme ever

Using a combination of computational predictions and experimental testing, Northeastern researchers are trying to predict the function of an enzyme by looking at the individual amino acids that make up its structure.

by Laura Castañón August 20, 2019

Fulbright scholar Zoe Bishop has always been intrigued by Eastern culture and traditions. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Her dream didn’t come true and she couldn’t be happier about that

Zoe Bishop, who will receive a degree in biochemistry at Commencement, is among nine Fulbright scholars who will be celebrated by President Joseph E. Aoun at the Academic Honors Convocation on Thursday.

by Ian Thomsen April 17, 2019