SAFE Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Brooke Christian
Dr. Brooke Christian, assistant professor, Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences
Student and Faculty Excellence (SAFE) fund recipient
Project: “CAHS D as a potential pharmaceutical excipient”
Christian applied for a SAFE fund grant to help cover publication costs for her manuscript "Toxicity and Immunogenicity of a Tardigrade Cytosolic Abundant Heat Soluble Protein in Mice.” The research project’s purpose is to stabilize protein-based therapeutics. The manuscript was accepted, but publication costs were waived due to COVID-19.
SAFE funds were instead spent on supplies to continue this research project and investigate stabilization of insulin at room temperature by CAHS D, a type of protein. This data will be included in her next publication.
Seniors Dane Shovlin, majoring in chemistry, and Sarah Martin, majoring in biology, additionally assisted Christian with the research process. Shovlin was an author on the initial publication and Martin is working to stabilize antibodies and insulin with CAHS D. Both students have read literature, designed their own experiments and collected and interpreted data.
“Both Dane and Sarah will be authors on the next publication, which will greatly increase their chances of getting into a good graduate school,” said Christian.
###
About The SAFE Fund
Initially endowed by Hughlene and Bill Frank, the College of Arts and Sciences Student and Faculty Excellence (SAFE) Fund provides resources that can be used to support undergraduate, graduate and faculty experiences. The SAFE Fund provides funding for college priorities and opportunities that arise throughout the year. These unrestricted funds support student and faculty travel, publication support for faculty and student research opportunities. Learn more at: https://cas.appstate.edu/students/student-and-faculty-excellence-safe-fund.
About the A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry
The A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences offers a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry, a Bachelor of Science in chemistry with eight different concentrations and an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science degree in fermentation sciences. The department’s programs prepare students to attend graduate and professional schools, as well as for employment in the pharmaceutical and fermentation industries and other business sectors. Learn more at https://chemistry.appstate.edu.
Compiled and written by Sophia Woodall and Ellen Gwin Burnette
August 2, 2021
BOONE, N.C.
Caption: SAFE faculty recipient Dr. Brooke Christian, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences. Photo by University Communications.
Caption: SAFE faculty recipient Dr. Brooke Christian, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences. Photo by University Communications.