By Mason Braasch
Department Communications
On Wednesday morning, more than 60 members of the Chemistry Department joined a zoom meeting to participate in the first Chemistry Conversation of the year. The event, organized by the Faculty and Staff Wellness and Professional Development Committee, included presentations from Professors Sam Gellman and Lloyd Smith about their work on COVID-19 research.
The Conversation started with a presentation from Smith, in which he discussed his research group’s work on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the development of HyPR-MS (Hybridization Purification of RNA- Protein complexes followed by Mass Spectrometry).
Gellman followed the conversation with a presentation about his work with SARS-CoV-2 as well, which examined Spike Protein and the ability to inhibit rearrangement to inhibit infection.
After both presentations, the floor was opened up to questions, which prompted lively discussions between participants in the event. Both speakers were commended for making their presentations easy to follow and understand for participants at all levels of education and interests.
Silvia Cavagnero, who introduced and facilitated much of the event, excitedly explained that “this is only the first of the events that [the Wellness and Professional Development Committee] has planned for this year.” Be sure to stay tuned for more events to come!