Chasta Parker is currently completing her Ph.D. at USC under the direction of Dr. James Sodetz, internationally known for his research concerning the protein complement system. Chasta brings to Winthrop a broad background in protein chemistry, microbiology, and X-ray crystallography. She is a Summa Cum Laude BS graduate of the ACS certified chemistry program at Salisbury State University.
While at USC, Chasta served as president of the Society for the Advancement of Chemical Sciences and was a recipient of the Joseph W. Bouknight Graduate Teaching Award. Last year, Chasta was involved in the movement of the chemistry department at USC into new facilities. At Winthrop, she will be responsible for the two semester biochemistry course, to include the development of a new two semester biochemistry laboratory sequence. Chasta will be also be responsible for developing and implementing a new biochemistry degree option at Winthrop University that is ACS certified.
Chasta is a member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society and the American Chemical Society. Her research interests center on investigating protein-protein interactions using a wide variety of modern biochemical assays and protein databases.
Currently a visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Davidson College, Dr. T. Christian Grattan completed his Ph.D. last year at USC under the direction of Dr. Dan Reger, a renown inorganic chemist and educator. Christian is a graduate of Allegheny College, serving as class president there during his senior year. While at USC, Christian was a six-time recipient of the Joseph W. Bouknight Award for excellence in teaching. At USC, he organized and taught the organic chemistry review sessions that were a part of USC's MCAT preparation course. He served for one year as safety officer and was involved in the movement of the chemistry department at USC into new facilities.
Christian is a synthetic chemist with a strong inorganic and organic background. This fall, he will assume teaching responsibilities in the organic and inorganic courses and labs. He will also be responsible for developing and teaching the new chemical synthesis course that is very important for ACS certification and that will be offered for the first time in Spring 2001.
Christian is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research and the American Chemical Society. His research interests include the development of synthesis techniques and methods to produce families of related structures that may be of therapeutic value; the synthesis, characterization, and metal complexation of organic ligands that link metals together; and the development and evaluation of alternative instructional approaches for undergraduate education.