Allyson McAtamney earned their PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz, investigating chemical communication within several marine host-microbe systems. At Mount Holyoke College, their research group focuses on antibiotic discovery from soil and freshwater marine microbes.
McAtamney and their group are particularly interested in studying natural products, otherwise known as specialized or secondary metabolites. Natural products are classified as any molecule produced by a living organism, such as plants, bacteria, or fungi. Due to nature’s ability to produce unique chemical scaffolds, natural products serve as a rich source of potential antibiotic compounds.
The McAtamney lab uses an interdisciplinary approach to identify microbially-produced antibiotics, including microbiology techniques, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).
Students should have completed CHEM 202 before applying. Students who have taken CHEM 223 are encouraged to apply, as well as students who are interested in spending a summer in the lab.
McAtamney teaches Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Lab at MHC.
Education
- Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz