Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Archives

silhouettes of two firefighters standing in front of massive wilfdire

Is wildfire soot leaving a mark on the world’s oceans?

When clouds of smoke and ash billow out over the ocean, stretching away from the wildfires that are their source, they might not just affect the air quality, according to research by Aron Stubbins, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki September 17, 2021

Here’s how Northeastern is keeping an eye on possible COVID-19 variants on campus

When the Northeastern community returns to weekly surveillance COVID-19 testing in the fall for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, the COVID-19 wellness team won’t just be monitoring positive or negative cases. They’ll also be keeping track of which variants of the virus are popping up in our community—and they’ll know quickly which ones are responsible.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki August 10, 2021

Our plastic pollution problem may have more significant consequences than we think

Plastics are a pervasive source of pollution. And they might also be significantly altering the Earth’s carbon cycle and our ability to monitor it, according to research by Northeastern’s Aron Stubbins.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki July 6, 2021

She’s building better bones while encouraging diversity in science

Bone is the second-most commonly transplanted tissue, and yet current bone graft procedures come with significant drawbacks. One option is to take bone…

by Allie Nicodemo - contributor May 11, 2021

Faculty Expert

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