The Green Laboratory
Mandy Green, PhD
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Research Summary
Dr. Mandy Green is a computational chemist, specifically quantum models applied to biological or organic molecules to investigate reaction mechanisms. She completed a B.S. in Chemistry at Augusta University, and then went on to study Physical Chemistry at Purdue University where she earned a PhD under the guidance of Dr. Joseph Francisco and Dr. Lyudmila Slipchenko. She performed quantum calculations on protein and lipid molecules, ions, and radicals to determine spectral, thermodynamic, and kinetic properties. She examined free radical oxygen reaction thermodynamics and kinetics. Outside of academia, she also worked in Quality Control in Industry and as a Technical Specialist and Intellectual Property Manager in Law before returning to Augusta University.
Research Interests
“I am motivated and excited by chemical logic that explains biological phenomena. I love the connection between chemical identity and structure with function and reaction dynamics.”
The focus of the Green Group is two fold: (1) Analysis of the extract compounds from plants and fungi; (2) Computational Modeling of Reaction Dynamics. The group’s key research areas include Phytochemistry, Extract Analysis, and Reaction Mechanisms.
Extract Analysis
- The analytical projects use a student-centered approach. Students extract and analyze compounds from fungi and plants via chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Past and current students examined pigments from coleus, phytochemicals from lemongrass, monoterpene indole alkaloids from madagascar periwinkle, phytochemicals from rosemary, and compounds from cordyceps. Current projects include analysis of fungi including Cordyceps militaris and Hericium erinaceus. The general goal of these projects is improve student’s analytical and instrumentation skills.
Reaction Mechanisms
- Quantum calculations are computed for reactants, intermediates, transition states, and products to determine structures and energies in order to examine reaction dynamics. Current projects include medicinal chemistry catalysis in polycyclic compounds.
Selected Publications
- Green, M.C. , Dubnicka, L.J., Davis, A.C., Rypkema, H.A., Francisco, J.S., and Slipchenko, L.V. Thermodynamics and Kinetics for the Free Radical Oxygen Protein Oxidation Pathway in a Model for β‑structured Peptides; Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2016.
- Green, M.C. , Nakata, H.A., Fedorov, D.G., and Slipchenko, L.V., Radical Damage in Lipids Investigated with the Fragment Molecular Orbital Method; Chemical Physics Letters, 2016, 651, pp 56–61.
- Stringfellow, H.M., Jones, M.R., Green, M.C. , Wilson, A.K. and Francisco, J.S., Selectivity in ROS-Induced Peptide Backbone Bond Cleavage; Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2014, pp 11399–11404.
- Green, M.C. , Francisco, J.S., Fedorov, D.G., Kitaura, K., and Slipchenko, L.V., Open-Shell Pair Interaction Energy Decomposition Analysis (PIEDA): Formulation and Application of the Hydrogen Abstraction in Tripeptides; Journal of Chemical Physics, 2013, 138, 074111.
- Green, M.C. , Stelzleni, S., and Francisco, J.S., A Spectral Marker for Cα Damage in Beta Peptides; Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2013, 117(3), pp 550–565.