Biography
Hi everyone, my name is Kerry! I grew up in Portland, OR, but I call Amherst, Massachusetts home now. Before coming to CSU, I studied at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, where I completed a BS in biochemistry and a BA in music (voice).
My main area of research in undergrad was in developing new metallic nanoparticles for medical contrast dyes in the lab of Dr. Emily Tollefson. Also in undergrad, I participated in (and later led) and a cappella group, sang in three other auditioned choirs, and swam varsity for two seasons. After undergrad, I worked at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School as a research associate in the lab of Dr. Lucio Castilla. There, I worked on a targeted polymer nanogel drug delivery system for a difficult-to-treat type of leukemia. Although much of my previous work was nano-chemistry or biochemistry centric, my main area of interest has always been on the environmental effects of plastic decomposition, a passion I discovered during my metabolic biochemistry, physical chemistry, and inorganic chemistry classes in undergrad. I joined the Borch lab in fall of 2023 because of our focus on emerging contaminants, and the tendency for projects to be interdisciplinary in nature. Here, I have worked on a few different projects, including testing biochar as an additive in cement used to plug oil wells, using high resolution mass spectrometry to study treated produced water, understanding the photo-oxidation and breakdown of agricultural mulches, and characterizing plastic additives in agricultural plastics using non-targeted high resolution mass spectrometry. Here, I have been able to combine my love to materials chemistry with the exciting world of environmental analytical chemistry. In particular, I have become very involved in the world of solvent extraction from polymeric materials and accelerated photo degradation using xenon-arc weathering instruments.
Outside of chemistry, I love to swim (and have even participated in races with my fellow labmates), sing professionally, dance ballet, play guitar, and love to snuggle my cat.