Mike McCormick
Special Lecturer
Mike.M.Mccormick@gmail.com
S/N 312
(208) 426-3028

Educational Background

Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI B. S., summa cum laude, 1998
University of Virginia (UVa), Charlottesville, VA Ph. D. 2004
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT Post Doc 2005

About Me

I am an avid triathlete, cyclist, mountain biker, and runner. I have completed 15 marathons, eight of which were part of the eight ironman triathlons that I have finished. I am a member of the 50 states and 50 states plus D.C. marathon clubs since I have finished marathons in 11 states. At BSU, I coach the Boise State Triathlon Club. I have also studied the martial arts, were I have achieved a 2nd degree black belt in Shendo Aikijitsu, a 1st black belt in Tae Kwon do, and a 1st degree black belt in Hapkido.

Pedagogical Philosophy

My personal teaching philosophy is simple. Keep learning fun and show how it relates to the real world. It’s all about thinking and understanding instead of “plug and chug”. My classroom setting allows for many questions to be proposed by my students as well as myself. Keeping lectures interactive helps students focus on content, instead of daydreaming, as well as aids with the retention of lecture material.

Research

The main focus of my research is the synthesis of biologically active heterocycles. This broad focus can be broken down into specific studies, which include firefly luciferin/luciferase modification, synthesis of novel N-heterocyclic carbene catalysts, modification of therapeutic agents such as doxorubicin, and the use of peptides as ligands for catalytic systems. One of the main objectives for these projects allows for undergraduates to complete, publish and present scientific data to the chemistry community.

Currently, I am working on a collaborative project with Dr. Henry Charlier (Department of Chemistry, Boise State University) on the modification of anthracyclines that act as anti-neoplastic agents. Doxorubicin is a currently administered as an anti¬neoplastic agent. However, when carbonyl reductase acts upon doxorubicin, it can cause lethal acute cardiomyopathy in people who have been administered this drug. This is because the carbonyl reductase metabolyte of doxorubicin is highly cardio-toxic. We are working on analogues of doxorubicin that would still act as anti-neoplastic agents that would not produce toxic metabolites. Specifically, we are proposing that modification of the C-13 carbonyl group could prevent carbonyl reductase from making cardio-toxic metabolites of our analogues (Figure 3). Current proposed modifications include sulfone, sulfoxide, imine, and carboxyl analogues of this molecule. The advantage these analogues would have over a carbonyl is the increased difficulty to be reduced by carbonyl reductase. The real synthetic challenge comes from the difficulty of distinguishing similar functionalities within doxorubicin.

Modification of the heterocycles in luciferin has potential to become a valuable asset in the use of luciferase genes as reporter assays for in vitro and in vivo transcription. Drug companies can benefit greatly from live animal studies of their drug and find the targets of these drugs. In mammalian systems, fusion peptides can be incorporated living systems that contain a gene of interest and the reporter gene luciferase. Upon expression of a desired gene, the luciferase gene is expressed immediately following the desired gene. The introduction of luciferin into the system will cause the luciferase to emit light, thus not only showing the positive expression of the desired gene, but also the location of where the gene was expressed. The problem with the current method is that yellow-green light does not pass through mammalian tissue as effectively as other wavelengths. The purpose of the alteration of the color of light emission is to allow for better tissue penetration of emitted light, which will enhance sensitivity of this assay. The main goal was to synthesize an analogue that can give a red-shifted light emission, but also can be administered into living systems. One analogue that was discovered in my graduate work was able to red-shift the effective wavelength; however, it did not function well in a biological system.

Another area of research that I would like to explore is in chemical education. I like to take an active role in organic chemistry laboratory experiment development. Through a good organic lab curriculum, the teachings of organic lecture can be reinforced, making for more effective learning. It is through bench research is chemistry truly understood and where the young scientist starts to develop.