Sean Decatur

Professor of Chemistry

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 2001 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.

News Links:

"Sean Decatur to Discuss His Life Journey," Office of Communications, February 25, 2008

"MHC's Cool Classes," Office of Communications, August 9, 2007

"Sean Decatur: Interdisciplinary Innovator," Diverse Issues in Higher Education, January 11, 2007

"Sean Decatur Receives National Science Foundation Grant," College Street Journal, March 24, 2000

"Innovative Ways of Teaching and Learning," Vista, summer 2000