PPG Scholar Teams Program Supports Mentored Research in Chemistry
Heidi Opdyke
- Associate Dean of Marketing and Communications, MCS
- Email opdyke@andrew.cmu.edu
- Phone 412-268-9982
Graduate students play a key role in mentoring undergraduates in Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Chemistry. The new PPG Scholar Teams program aims to strengthen mentoring pathways while fostering collaborative research that benefits students, faculty and the broader scientific community.
Supported by a gift from the PPG Foundation and matching funds from the department, the program is designed to embed mentorship more intentionally into the undergraduate research experience while advancing high-impact scientific projects.
“The PPG Scholar Teams program builds on the Department of Chemistry’s longstanding commitment to mentorship in research,” said Bruce Armitage, professor, department head, and co-director of the Center for Nucleic Acid Science and Technology.
As researchers-in-training, graduate students can be well positioned to recognize where undergraduates may struggle, Armitage said. For example, navigating lab culture can be intimidating to newcomers. At the same time, undergraduate researchers can contribute fresh perspectives and ask questions that can support graduate students’ growth as scholars and professionals.
“It’s critical for undergraduates to learn about research in practice while graduate students are in a position to help them grow,” Armitage said.
The inaugural cohort includes five teams, each pairing an undergraduate researcher with a graduate student mentor under the guidance of a faculty principal investigator. Together, students will work on immersive summer research projects beginning in May, with funding that supports student stipends, research supplies and travel to present findings at regional or national scientific conferences.
For undergraduates, the program offers a first deep exposure to hands-on research and the possibility of a future career in science. Graduate students gain valuable mentoring experience that prepares them for supervisory roles beyond the Ph.D., while faculty benefit from new avenues to explore emerging or expanded research directions.
In addition to project work, students will participate in professional development programming and share progress during a mid-summer update and an end-of-summer symposium attended by CMU and PPG representatives.
Members of the inaugural cohort are:
- Neo Alpha, sophomore, and Ph.D. candidate Sebastian Guajardo, advised by Stefanie Sydlik, associate professor
Methacrylic biguanide as osteogenic enhancer under hyperglycemic environments for PMMA bone cements. This project is directed toward developing additives to improve the performance of polymeric materials used in bone repair.
- Luke Cerwin, junior, and Ph.D. candidate Chloë Zimovets, advised by Stefanie Sydlik
Peptide-based macromolecular chelators for safe and selective heavy metal sequestration. This project will design and test new synthetic molecules for the removal of heavy metal from people exposed to this toxic substance.
- Matthew McCowen, sophomore, and Ph.D. candidate Debojyoti Chakraborty, advised by Terry Collins, Teresa Heinz Professor in Green Chemistry, Chemistry Director, Institute for Green Science
Analyzing and Providing a Mechanistic Pathway for the Degradation of Sertraline in Wastewater using NewTAML Catalysts with Peroxide.This project is targeted toward application of TAML catalysts to the removal of a commonly prescribed drug, sertraline, from the environment.
- Christina Tsingi, junior, and Ph.D. candidate Zeynep Yildiz, advised by Bruce Armitage
Development of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers to block transcription of the EGFR oncogene.This project will test a new approach to treating cancer by preventing gene expression at its earliest point, transcription of mutated genomic DNA into RNA.
- Hayden Zohn, sophomore, and Ph.D. candidate Leticia Madureira, advised by Tomasz Kowalewski, professor
Development of Specialized Computational Quantum Chemistry Solvation Workflows. This project will improve our ability to incorporate solvent properties and behavior in computational studies of chemical reactivity.
