 Faculty
Profile
Sean
M. Decatur
Professor, Biophysical Chemistry,
Marilyn Dawson Sarles, M.D. Professor of Life Sciences
, and
Associate Dean of Faculty for Science
Contact
Room: Room 1D, Carr Laboratory
Phone: 413-538-2115
Email: sdecatur@ mtholyoke.edu
Education
- Stanford
University, Ph.D.
- Swarthmore
College, B.A.
Joined
MHC: 1995
Specialization
Biophysical chemistry, especially spectroscopy of proteins and
the protein folding problem; science, technology, and society,
including issues at the intersection of race and science
Transcending
the boundaries of biology, chemistry, and physics, Sean Decatur
works at the intersection of the sciences as he researches how
chains of amino acids transform themselves into three-dimensional
proteins. Scientists know that mishaps in this transformation—or
protein-folding process—are linked to diseases. In victims of
Alzheimer's, for example, misfolded proteins create fibers, or
plaque, that destroy brain cells. Decatur's experiments, which
analyze both the physical process of protein folding and its connection
to protein function, could some day help pave the way for a cure
for such diseases.
Decatur won
MHC's Meribeth E. Cameron Faculty Prize for Scholarship in 1991
and has also received national recognition for his research. He
has earned $1,000,000 in grants, including a prestigious National
Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER grant. He is also well known for
encouraging undergraduates to join him in his work, supporting
them with funding from the NSF and the National Institutes of
Health and coauthoring papers with them for such scientific journals
as Biochemistry and Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Decatur is
equally innovative developing curriculum for science and nonscience
majors alike. His many initiatives have included a Race and Science
series to consider the health of communities of color and racial
diversity in the scientific community; a course to explore the
ethical, social, and political questions related to scientific
topics, such as cloning, bioengineered food, and gene therapy;
and a team-taught chemistry course that combines the subdisciplines
of biophysical chemistry, physical chemistry, and inorganic chemistry.
Web
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