Percy Griffin

by | Percy Griffin ’13
Tema, Ghana
Biology, Chemistry with Biochemistry emphasis

“My undergraduate research experience in the Brisbois lab will prove helpful in achieving my career goal.”
—Percy Griffin ’13

My research experience with chemistry professor Ron Brisbois began with an advance techniques tutorial in which I honed my skills in instrumental analysis, purification methods, reaction set-up and operation, and laboratory safety. I had to be meticulous in both conducting procedures and recording results. Then I was ready to start reactions on my own. I have now spent two summers doing research in the Brisbois lab.

In my work with Professor Brisbois, I worked on thehave synthesized 1,2,3-triazoles, a which have a pentagonal molecular ring scaffold composed of two carbon and three nitrogen atoms. Why are 1,2,3-triazole molecular pentagons worth making? There has been a renaissance in creative applications of 1,2,3-triazole, including their potential use in ultra-miniaturized, nanoscale circuits. Biochemists and molecular biologists have used 1,2,3-triazoles to attach molecules to the membranes of cells, which may eventually make possible selective delivery of a drug. Medicinal chemists have begun incorporating them into new drugs, some of which are undergoing clinical testing.

I intend to pursue a career in research, earning either a PhD in organic chemistry or a combined MD-PhD, and I know that my undergraduate research experience in the Brisbois lab will prove helpful in achieving my career goal.

October 18 2012

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