Education
Yale University (2018-)
2021: Master of Science, Chemistry
Ph. D. Candidate in Organic Chemistry with Prof. Scott Miller
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Yale OSGDD Emerging Scholar
Research Summary:
My primary research project is being conducted within the NSF-Funded Center for Genetically Encoded Materials (C-GEM). C-GEM is a multi-institutional collaboration effort spearheaded by Prof. Alanna Schepartz at the University of California, Berkeley of which Prof. Scott Miller and I are contributing members. C-GEM’s goal is to answer the holy grail question: can the ribosome be adapted to rapidly synthesize unique polymers in a sequence-defined fashion? While at face-value this question might seem far-fetched, as you begin to interrogate the structure of the ribosome and the structures of the molecules which it is able to accommodate (which has been beautifully demonstrated by many members of the C-GEM team in prior manuscripts), the possibility of modifying the ribosome and its chemistry not only becomes apparent, but an exciting canvas of opportunity. The ribosome is a molecular machine that synthesizes proteins from amino acids in a sequence-specific fashion. It has been said that this process, translation, is perhaps the greatest example of controlled polymer synthesis known to scientists to date. To create its complex polymers, the ribosome facilitates peptide bond formation, a simple condensation reaction, to form an amide bond. There are no reports of the ribosome facilitating any other chemical reaction. The question we would like to know is if that’s a limitation of the ribosome’s machinery or perhaps simply just by design. If we could change the design, could we then modify the reactivity that the ribosome could accommodate? My research pertains to answering that exact question through deliberate substrate design and synthesis and in-vitro ribosome-mediated reactions.
Yale Chemistry Incoming Class of 2018
Miller Lab, Winter 2020
Harvard University (2014-2018)
B.A. in Chemistry; Secondary in Computer Science, Spanish Language Citation
American Chemical Society Scholar, BASF Sponsored
Summary:
As an undergraduate, I studied organic chemistry and I conducted research with Prof. Matthew Shair whose lab focuses on the exploration and synthesis of small molecules with therapeutic promise. During my first semester working there, I worked on a project involving the synthesis of a novel methyltransferase inhibitor that showed promise in metabolic control. And during the summer, as part of Harvard’s Program for Research in Science and Engineering (PRISE), I took up another project in the lab involving the synthesis of sinefungin, another methyltransferase inhibitor, whose derivatives show promise in cancer, obesity, and diabetes therapeutics. I aimed to synthesize sinefungin on a gram-scale large enough to perform synthetic modifications and subsequently test the viability and efficacy of the novel sinefungin analogues as selective methyltransferase inhibitors. From this experience, I learned excellent wet lab techniques as well as the research strategies needed to excel as an independent scientist.
I also obtained a secondary (minor) degree in computer science. My CS interests were mainly focused on front-end user-interface design. During the second semester of my junior year, I took a computer science class called CS179: Design of Useful and Usable Interactive Systems. At its core, it was a design class that promoted creativity and originality. However, this class had an interesting twist to its philosophy. It wasn’t just about who could brainstorm the most creative idea in a vacuum; it was about who could create the best idea for a population that you didn’t identify with. Normal brainstorming techniques were traded for first-person observations and interviews. Gathering information this way, we then could intervene where the population truly needed it and not where we supposed the population needed it. And while that technique helped me create a great final project for my class, more importantly it taught me that at the heart of every innovation should not be “creativity” or even necessarily “originality,” but rather your unique target. It helped me put together the pieces from my science background to focus my efforts towards what I’m truly interested in: people.
Further, during my time at Harvard, I obtained a Spanish Language Citation. While not fluent, I am conversationally proficient in the language.
Dr. Adam Cohen's PS10 2014 Class
Harvard Graduation Photo
Valley High School (2010-2014)
International Baccalaureate Program; Higher Level Chemistry and Higher Level Spanish
Class Valedictorian
Summary:
In high school, I attended an international baccalaureate (IB) magnet school in Las Vegas, NV. IB programs are famed worldwide for training well-rounded and open-minded students. In English class, I participated in Socratic seminars to both recognize my classmates’ opinions and express my own, encouraging deeper thought on analyzed texts, while in chemistry, we were given a question and were asked to create our own lab experiment to answer it, bringing our classroom studies to life. Each class had a rigorous curriculum that exceeded state standards and is followed by schools around the world. As a capstone project, I wrote an extended essay in History entitled, "Has the Digital Copyright Law in the United States Been Detrimental to the Creativity of Society?". Beyond academics, IB schools require that students focus on CAS (creativity, action, and service). Through this program, it allowed me to explore my musical pursuits, join the varsity tennis and bowling team, and serve my community at the local library and at various charity walks and drives. This training helped prepare me to excel at an MIT summer program (MITES) the summer after my junior year, at Harvard upon graduation, and beyond.
Valley High School Friends
