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Research opportunity advances student toward his
professional goals
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Evan Delgado and Igor Lednev |
Research is a vital part of the University at
Albany undergraduate experience. Research stimulates
critical thinking, encourages experimentation and
promotes intellectual accomplishment. Abundant
opportunities exist for students to partner with
faculty researchers in a variety of disciplines—from
the arts to the social sciences to the nanoscale
sciences. Here is one such example:
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Evan Delgado |
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Evan Delgado
Bloomingburg, NY
University Scholars Program
Biochemistry and molecular biology major
Professional goals: to
work in bio-nanotechnology
Quote:
This research opportunity
opened my eyes to the capabilities of the
University's research facilities and faculty. It
motivated me to continue to produce results while
conducting research and to have it published as a
scientific reference.
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Igor Lednev |
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Igor
Lednev, faculty mentor
Department of Chemistry
Research:
Professor Igor Lednev's research focuses on the
development and application of novel laser
spectroscopic methods for biological and chemical
studies. His innovative contributions include
building the first nanosecond time-resolved
ultraviolet Raman spectrometer combined with a
temperature-jump technique for protein folding
studies, applying, for the first time, two-color
diffuse-reflectance flash photolysis for
characterizing fast reactions on the surface, and
developing a non-invasive glucose sensor for
diabetes. He has co-authored more than 70 research
papers, and received two patents. Professor Lednev
received the Research Innovation Award in 2003. His
research group develops and applies a novel deep UV
Raman spectroscopic methodology for studying amyloid
fibril formation, intracellular signaling processes,
and ligand-metal complexes of lanthanides and
actinides. He earned his Ph.D from Moscow Institute
of Physics and Technology.
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Evan Delgado and Igor Lednev |
Evan's Research Project:
Modern Spectroscopic Techniques
The understanding of structural aspects of
protein-small molecule interactions is important for
efficient drug discovery. Our laboratory develops
and utilizes a novel methodology based on the most
advanced laser spectroscopy and statistical analysis
for structural characterization of proteins. In
particular, we study the interaction of calcium
binding protein S100A12 with target proteins and
small molecule. S100A12 was reported to have
antimicrobial activity. It has been recently
reported that anti-allergic drug Cromolyn, which
inhibits Ig-E-mediated degranulation of mast cells,
binds to S100A12. Evan studied the mechanism of
interaction between Cromolyn and S100A12 using
various spectroscopic techniques with particular
focus on the calcium regulatory role.
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