BMB Faculty

Judy Amburgey-Peters - Associate Professor of Chemistry
(330) 263-2014 / jamburgey@wooster.edu

1996. B.S. Georgetown College 1988; Ph.D. North Carolina, Chapel Hill 1993

Judith C. Amburgey-Peters is an associate professor of chemistry at The College of Wooster, where she joined the faculty in 1996. She specializes in the study of synthetic organic chemistry, focusing on protein-membrane interactions. She teaches courses in organic chemistry as well as Independent Study.

Amburgey-Peters received her B.S., from Georgetown College (1988) and her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (1993). She has diverse research experience as a visiting scientist at The Ohio State University, an industrial research scientist, and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland-Baltimore.

Amburgey-Peters has been published in journals such as Biochemistry, Bioorganic Chemistry, and the Journal of Chemical Education. She has made presentations at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Organic Symposium and several academic institutions. She is a member of Project Kaleidoscope, the ACS, and serves as a Wooster ACS Section officer. In 1999, she received a Research Corporation Cottrell College Science Award and, as a co-investigator, received a NSF Major Research Instrumentation grant for a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer.

In addition, she is program director for Wooster’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Education Award, which supports science education outreach and undergraduate student research.

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Paul A. Bonvallet - Associate Professor of Chemistry
(330) 263-2610 / jamburgey@wooster.edu

B.A. Kenyon 1996; Ph.D. Wisconsin, Madison 2001.

Paul A. Bonvallet, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, graduated from Kenyon College in 1996 with a B.A. in chemistry and a minor in physics. A native Midwesterner, Paul received his Ph.D. investigating the photochemistry of matrix-isolated carbenes at the University of Wisconsin in 2001 under the mentorship of Robert McMahon. From 2002-2004 he was a postdoctoral fellow in Fraser Stoddart's research group at UCLA's Department of Chemistry and California NanoSystems Institute, where he worked with a multidisciplinary team to develop and successfully employ a "molecular muscle" to perform micromechanical work by harnessing molecular motion. Following an appointment as an instructor at Mount St. Mary's College concurrent with his postdoctoral research, Paul joined the Wooster faculty in the summer of 2004.

Dr. Bonvallet's research interests include supramolecular chemistry, molecular recognition, physical organic chemistry, photochemistry, and reactive intermediates. His current research focuses upon the noncovalent modification of conductive polymers in order to tune their electroluminescent properties. Paul teaches Introductory Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Independent Study courses.

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Paul Edmiston - Associate Professor of Chemistry
(330) 263-2113 / pedmiston@wooster.edu

B.S. Pepperdine 1993; Ph.D. Arizona 1997. Dreyfus Fellow, College of Wooster 1997-1999.

Paul L. Edmiston is an associate professor of chemistry and chair of biochemistry and molecular biology at The College of Wooster. A member of the faculty since 1997, he specializes in molecular spectroscopy, molecular imprinting, sol-gel based chemical sensors, thin film assemblies, and molecular biology.

A former Camille and Henry Dreyfus Fellow, Edmiston’s teaching interests include analytical chemistry, chemical instrumentation, and forensic science. He earned his B.S. from Pepperdine University (1993), cum laude, and his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona (1997). He has co-authored articles in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Chemistry of Materials, and Biophysical Journal, as well as Applied Spectroscopy, Journal of Chemical Education, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, and Biochemica et Biophysica Acta.

A member of the American Chemical Society, Edmiston is the recipient of many awards and grants, including a five-year, $400,000 CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2003 to develop simple, inexpensive, but highly sensitive sensing technologies to detect explosives in real time. He also received the Society of Applied Spectroscopy Graduate Student of the Year Award in 1997.

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Catherine P. Fenster, Assistant Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2436 / cfenster@wooster.edu

B.S. Furman 1993; M.A., Ph.D. Alabama at Birmingham 1995, 1999.

Catherine Fenster is an assistant professor of biology at The College of Wooster and a member of the faculty since 2005. Her dissertation research involved characterizing the effects of chronic nicotine at tobacco-related levels on the function of nicotinic receptors found in the brain.

As a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of pathology at UAB, she investigated the effects of physical exercise on molecular indicators of immune system function and inflammation. Her current research goals involve characterizing some of the cellular mechanisms in the brain that contribute to learning and memory. In particular, Fenster and her students have been working toward characterizing the function of a newly discovered brain protein, called neuronal interleukin-16 (NIL-16), which is found only in brain regions where learning-related changes in neuronal signaling occur. Through studies involving animal behavior testing, molecular and cellular neurobiology, and electrophysiological recording of currents through ion channels, she and her students have been investigating the role of this protein in regulating neuronal function in the context of learning and memory.

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Dean Fraga - Associate Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2557 / dfraga@wooster.edu

B.S. Cincinnati 1982; Ph.D. Wisconsin (Madison) 1990.

Dean Fraga is an associate professor of biology and chair of the department at The College of Wooster where he has been a member of the faculty since 1994. He specializes in molecular biology, genetics, and the use of antisense/RNAi technology to control gene expression. His current research focuses on the evolution and physiological role of the phosphagen kinase protein family in invertebrate and bacterial species.

Fraga received his B.S. from the University of Cincinnati (1982) and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1990). He then spent four years at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle as a post-doctorate.

Fraga’s research has appeared in scientific articles that have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

A member of the Society of Protozoologists and the Council for Undergraduate Research, Fraga has received research grants from the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the American Cancer Society. His most recent award from NSF is a collaborative research grant with member of Wooster’s chemistry department to study the evolution of structure-function relationships in the phosphagen kinase protein family.

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William R. Morgan - Associate Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2026 / wmorgan@wooster.edu

B.S. Cornell 1982; Ph.D. Yale 1988.

William R. Morgan is an associate professor of biology at The College of Wooster, where he joined the faculty in 1991. His areas of professional interest are molecular biology, genetics, and the nature of science.

A graduate of Cornell University (1982), Morgan earned his Ph.D. from Yale University (1988). He then conducted further research at Princeton University before coming to Wooster.

He has taught the introductory cell biology course and upper-level courses in genetics, molecular biology, and developmental biology, as well as a human genetics course for students not majoring in biology. He also regularly contributes to the college’s First-Year Seminar and Independent Study programs.

Morgan’s recent research focus is on Phytophthora infestans, the fungus-like organism responsible for the Irish potato famines of the mid-19th century and major crop losses in recent years. In hopes of developing effective treatments for its control, P. infestans is now the subject of intense molecular biology research to elucidate how this pathogen interacts with the host plant. Morgan also conducts research on the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, a model organism for understanding disease and other complex biological processes in more advanced animals, including humans.

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Mark J. Snider - Assistant Professor of Chemistry
(330) 263-2391 / msnider@wooster.edu

B.A. Capital 1997; Ph.D. University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2001.

Mark J. Snider is an assistant professor of chemistry at The College of Wooster and a member of the faculty since 2001. His research focuses on the exploration of enzyme mechanisms and the rates of spontaneous reactions in the absence of catalysts.

Snider is a graduate of Capital University, where he earned a B.A. in chemistry (1997). He went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics (2001).

A member of the American Chemical Society and the Council on Undergraduate Research, Snider was named to Alpha Epsilon Lambda, a national academic honor society of graduate students who have demonstrated leadership and commitment to public and departmental service. He also was a Battelle Scholar as an undergraduate.

Snider’s recent publications include "The Depths of Chemical Time and the Power of Enzymes as Catalysts" in Accounts of Chemical Research, and "The Rate of Spontaneous Decarboxylation of Amino Acids" in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

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