College of Sciences
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Fiscal Year 2025-2026
Message from Leadership
Dear Donor, The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry continues to thrive thanks to the generosity of our donors, whose support empowers student success, fuels discovery, and expands educational opportunities. This past year, we were inspired by strong enrollment in our chemistry courses and the dedication of our staff, who ensured that hands-on laboratory experiences remained central to student learning. We also launched our undergraduate chemistry program at SDSU Imperial Valley, welcomed new faculty, and acquired a new NMR cryo-probe that is accelerating research and training. Faculty and students continue to advance knowledge through publications, research awards, and graduate placements. Most rewarding is seeing our students grow into confident scientists who contribute meaningfully to research and their communities. Looking ahead, we are excited to expand access and strengthen research opportunities. Philanthropy plays a vital role in these achievements, supporting scholarships, research, and student success.
Tom Huxford, Ph.D. Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Philanthropy
Propelling the SDSU Community Forward Dr. Chidambar L. Kulkarni Memorial Endowed Scholarship The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry received a generous gift to establish the Dr. Chidambar L. Kulkarni Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which will provide meaningful support to international students pursuing degrees in chemistry within the College of Sciences. The fund helps reduce financial barriers and expands educational opportunities, allowing talented students to focus on their academic and professional development as they prepare for successful careers in science and research.
A chemistry student conducts laboratory research as part of her hands-on experience at SDSU.
Student Spotlight
Thriving in the Aztec Experience Andrew Meyer, Class of 2026 Class Level: Graduate Student College: College of Sciences Major: Chemistry After transferring to SDSU from community college, I had two goals: to excel in my coursework and become involved in research. The College of Sciences helped me achieve both. Outstanding faculty strengthened my interest in chemistry, and research opportunities led me to join Dr. Bergdahl’s lab, where I expanded my knowledge of organic chemistry and discovered the career path I wanted to pursue. During my time at SDSU, I achieved many of the goals I had set for myself and was fortunate to receive several awards. Yet the most valuable part of my experience was not the accomplishments themselves but the relationships I built along the way. I am deeply grateful to the professors who challenged, supported, and mentored me, as well as to the graduate students who generously shared their time, advice, and experiences. Their guidance shaped my academic journey and informed my plans for graduate school and beyond. While the knowledge and opportunities I gained at SDSU were invaluable, it is the people I met who will leave the most lasting impression.
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I am deeply grateful to the professors who challenged, supported, and mentored me, as well as to the graduate students who generously shared their time, advice, and experiences.
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Student Spotlight
Helen Fenske, Class of 2025 Class Level: Undergraduate Student College: College of Sciences Major: Chemistry with an emphasis in Biochemistry My love for biochemistry research began during my first year of university when I joined Dr. Tom Huxford’s Structural Biochemistry Laboratory. In this lab, I dove headfirst into the NF-κB pathway to understand how this family of transcription factors, along with their associated activators and repressors, drives the human immune response. Participating in undergraduate research through SDSU’s College of Sciences sparked my desire to understand how protein structure and protein-protein interactions drive disease. It helped me gain the skills in experimental design and data interpretation that I will need for a scientific research career. It fostered my ability to ask insightful questions and work independently, and it allowed me to take charge of my own education outside of the classroom. The opportunities provided by SDSU’s College of Sciences have opened so many doors for me and many other students. Because I was able to conduct, present, and publish research at SDSU, I am now preparing to attend UC Davis, where I will pursue a Ph.D. in biophysics, with the goal of becoming a professor and leading a lab of my own someday.
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The opportunities provided by SDSU’s College of Sciences have opened so many doors for me and many other students.
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Points of Pride
Celebrating Shared Success Recent Highlights The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry added a Bruker Prodigy NMR CryoProbe, significantly increasing the capacity and efficiency of its NMR Facility. Launched a new undergraduate chemistry degree program at SDSU Imperial Valley, welcoming its inaugural student cohort in fall 2026. Welcomed founding faculty member Dr. Jose Uribe, along with staff members Luis Garcia and Dr. Dilshan Silva. The department also welcomed new faculty member Dr. Rodolphe Jazzar, whose research focuses on developing new compounds with potential applications in drug discovery. Faculty research continued to gain national recognition through publications in leading scientific journals. Professor Rees Garmann published research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and a review article in Annual Review of Biochemistry. Professor Yong Yan published research in Science Advances, while Professor Young Kwang Lee published findings in Nature Communications. Research excellence was further recognized through competitive funding awards, including a U.S. Department of Agriculture fellowship awarded to graduate student Miguel Ibanez and a Petroleum Research Foundation grant from the American Chemical Society awarded to Professor Yuezhi Mao. The department also continued to support undergraduate research through the SDSU MARC program under the leadership of Professor Christal Sohl. Students continued to achieve success beyond SDSU, with graduates earning admission to top doctoral programs, including UC San Diego and UC Davis.
Research Growth
Chemistry and Biochemistry added a new NMR CryoProbe and launched a chemistry degree at SDSU Imperial Valley.
Research Wins
New faculty and staff, top-journal publications, and competitive funding are fueling faculty and student research.
Faculty and Staff Achievements
Christal Sohl, Ph.D. Title: Professor of Biochemistry, M.S./M.A. Advisor, MARC Program Director/PI College: College of Sciences Achievement: Promotion to professor, NIH R35 competitive renewal, Departmental Outstanding Faculty Award, and ACS San Diego Chapter’s Women in Chemistry Trailblazer Award. She shared the following: We strive to understand and combat cancer by probing mechanistic questions at the intersection of biochemistry, molecular biophysics, and cell biology. We explore how altered enzyme activity, with a focus on metabolic enzymes, impacts human health using kinetic, structure-function, and cellular studies that employ proteomic, metabolomic, and lipidomic technologies. By understanding the molecular mechanisms of enzyme dysfunction, we can illuminate structure-function relationships, probe the cellular consequences of enzyme activity, and identify new drug targets. I am a fierce advocate for broadening access to STEM and STEM careers. In collaborative work, I also study how participation in scientific research influences students’ motivation, persistence, and performance.
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Congratulations Dr. Sohl on all of your accomplishments this past year!
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Faculty and Staff Achievements
Byron Purse, Ph.D. Title: Professor of Chemistry College: College of Sciences Achievement: Awarded U.S. Patent 12,329,828 for fluorescent nucleoside compounds developed at SDSU for advanced DNA and RNA imaging. Byron Purse is a professor of organic chemistry whose research focuses on fluorescent nucleoside analogues— artificial DNA and RNA building blocks that allow scientists to study nucleic acids with exceptional sensitivity. His laboratory combines organic synthesis, spectroscopy, and chemical biology to develop new tools for understanding DNA and RNA structure and function. During 2025-26, Purse’s group reported two significant advances. In Chemical Science, he and his collaborators demonstrated that a fluorescent nucleobase analogue developed at SDSU enables robust single-molecule DNA detection using two-photon excitation, overcoming a longstanding challenge in nucleic acid imaging. In RSC Chemical Biology, his laboratory showed how base-pairingcontrolled tautomerism governs fluorescence responses in a tricyclic cytidine analogue, providing new design principles for responsive nucleic acid probes. This work builds on a growing portfolio of intellectual property developed at SDSU. In 2025, the university was awarded U.S. Patent 12,329,828 covering fluorescent nucleoside compounds for advanced imaging and spectroscopy. These technologies have potential applications in studies of gene expression and RNA biology, as well as future diagnostic and therapeutic platforms. Beyond his research, Purse served as a lead organizer of the 2025 ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Graduate Research Symposium hosted at SDSU. The meeting brought academic researchers, industry scientists, and graduate students from across North America to campus, highlighting SDSU’s growing reputation in chemical research and providing professional development opportunities for emerging scientists. Purse also serves as director of the SDSU–UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Chemistry, helping strengthen graduate education and expand research opportunities for doctoral students.
Thank you for your generous support.
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