Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc. (CIL) is the world’s leading producer of stable isotopes and stable isotope-labeled compounds. CIL is part of the Otsuka Group, a global healthcare enterprise, and operates facilities in different parts of the world. CIL specializes in the process of separating stable (nonradioactive) isotopes from natural abundance and then labeling biochemical and organic compounds with these highly enriched, stable isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. Our chemists substitute common atoms (e.g., ¹H, ¹²C, ¹⁴N, ¹⁶O) with rare, highly valued isotopes (e.g., ²H or D, ¹³C, ¹⁵N, ¹⁸O) so that the final product can be readily measured using a variety of techniques, including mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). CIL’s products are utilized for research applications in laboratories, medical, government, academic centers, and health care facilities worldwide. They are also used in commercial applications, such as pharmaceuticals and electronics, to enhance product quality and longevity.

Calvin Raab (’22) is a 5th year PhD student at the University of Chicago with advisor Sarah B. King where he works on filming some of the fastest and smallest phenomena capturable on camera. His work explores 2D materials and the unique light-matter interactions that occur on the nanoscale. In this talk, we will discuss the unique phenomenon of plasmon polaritons – a hybrid particle that occurs when light strongly couples to electron motion in metallic materials. Plasmon polaritons combine the properties of both light and matter and can power a variety of physical and chemical processes, including chemical catalysis, single molecule detection/emission, and nanoscale optical circuitry. These properties are particularly enhanced in 2D materials and this talk will highlight several novel materials such as MXenes and MoOCl2. Using a combination of photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and electromagnetic theory, plasmon polaritons can be observed in these materials at extraordinary time and length scales, including real time movies of plasmon propagation.

Hi! My name is Anne Leaman, and I graduated from Grove City in 2024 with my B.S. in biochemistry. I started a PhD program the following fall (2024) with the Borch Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Purdue University. After joining Dr. Qingfei Zheng’s lab in November 2024, I started working on a proteomics project to discover novel post-translational modification (PTM) sites. Our lab focuses on monoaminylation PTMs written onto proteins by the enzyme transglutaminase 2 (TGM2), and I specifically work with histaminylation, a type of monoaminylation PTM. After developing a chemical biology probe to mimic histamine while still maintaining its interaction with TGM2, we probed the histaminylated proteome in cancer cell lines and identified over 400 sites of histaminylation in colorectal and stomach cancers, including novel histone PTM marks. Using this probe, we hope to expand our knowledge into non-cancer models to better understand the regulatory role of histaminylation in the body. I look forward to sharing my research and my graduate school experience with fellow Grove City students!