Courses Taught:

General Chemistry II, Analytical Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Principles of Chemistry, Physical Chemistry I and II, Senior Capstone: Chemistry Seminar, Research in Chemistry, Science Honors: Alternative Energy, Science Honors: Climate Change

Research Interests:

The focus of my research is on the synthesis of biodegradable plastics or polymers. In contrast to the majority of current plastics, which are made from petroleum and decompose very slowly in the environment, the goals of my current research include synthesizing plastics from renewable resources, as well as synthesizing plastics that can be recycled by biological systems. I am particularly interested in the synthesis of biodegradable glycopolymers (plastics which contain pendant sugar groups), as these molecules may be able to interact with cells by mimicking the surface of the cell membrane. The biological activity and biodegradability of these new materials could find application in a range of biomedical technologies, and we are currently engaged in developing robust and efficient methods to synthesize novel biodegradable glycopolymers.

Selected Publications:

Recent Publications

• Knapp, E.J., (2019). God Loves Protected Species. And the Poachers Who Kill Them. Christianity Today.
• Knapp, E.J., Hoffman, T. (2018).  Trading culture for development: Assessing perceptions among rural agropastoral peoples in Tanzania. Development in Practice,��Vol. 28(6): 741-753.
• Knapp, E.J., Peace, N., & Bechtel, L. (2017). Poachers and poverty: assessing objective and subjective measures of poverty among illegal hunters outside Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Conservation & Society, 15(1):24-32.
• Knapp, E.J. (2017). Intelligently designed discussion: My journey through intellectual fear in higher education. Christian Scholar’s Review.
• Knapp, E. J., Rentsch, D., Schmidt, J., & Knapp, L. M. (2015). The plight of the people: understanding the social-ecological context of people living on the western edge of Serengeti National Park.  Serengeti IV. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.
• Knapp, E. J. (Submitted 2012). Why Poaching Pays: A Summary of Risks and Benefits Illegal Hunters Face in Western Serengti, Tanzania. Tropical Conservation Science.
• Knapp, E. J. (2007). Who Poaches: Household Economies of Illegal Hunters in Western Serengeti, Tanzania,��Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 12(3):195-196.
• Knapp, E. J., Rentsch, D., Schmidt, J., Lewis, C., & Polasky, S. (2010). A Tale of Three Villages: Choosing an Effective Method for Assessing Poaching Levels in Western Serengeti, Tanzania. Oryx,��44(2):178-184.
• Holdo, R. M., Galvin, K. A., Knapp, E. J., Hilborn, R., & Holt, R. D. (2010). Responses to alternative rainfall regimes and antipoaching in a migratory system. Ecological Applications, 20(2):381-397.

Departments:

Physics, Computer Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Biology, and Chemistry

Courses Taught

• Biochemistry I
• Biochemistry II
• Trends: Biomolecular Structural Studies
• Science and Society: Climate Science
• Chemical Instrumentation in Research
• General Chemistry

Professional Members/Associations

• American Chemical Society
• American Society of Mass Spectrometry

Professional Experience/Achievements

• Recipient of the 2015 Mentoring Award, Carson-Newman University.
• Awarded $8,000 grant through the Carl Tabb and Catherin Garrott Bahner Foundation in Spring 2015 for continued studies of Amyloid-Beta Peptides with Synthesized Chalcones.
• Awarded $7,000 grant through the Carl Tabb and Catherine Garrott Bahner Foundation in Spring 2013 for studies of Amyloid-Beta Peptides with Resveratrol and Analogs.
• Awarded $119,318 grant in Fall 2008 for NSF Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement.
• Awarded $13,050 grant in Fall of 1998 for NSF Instrument and Laboratory Improvement Program.
• Elected Math and Science Division Chair at FVCC (2003 – 2006) (3-year term).

Research Interests

• Gas-phase carbene labeling of proteins for topographical studies.

Development of a new mass spectrometry-based tool for structural biology called fast carbene-derivatization during electrospray ionization. The method marks protein topographical information by selective placement of methylene labels using an omnivorous surface assessable derivatization reagent, carbene. Subsequent mass spectrometry analysis quantifies the amount of methylene addition at each amino acid position of the protein, thereby generating a topographical map of the protein structure.

• Unraveling the early events in Alzheimer’s disease.

We are characterizing the early stages of beta-amyloid formation and inhibition. A telltale sign of Alzheimer’s disease is the formation of beta-amyloid deposits on the outside of neuronal cells and the influx of smaller amyloid-beta aggregates into the neuronal cells. We are developing ways to measure the relative effectiveness of various beta-amyloid inhibitors and to probe how these inhibitors function.

Publications/Conferences

• “Carbene Labelling of Gas Phase Peptide Ions: A Novel Technique for Studying Protein Topography.” Gregory Ballard and Paul Martino. 44th Annual Rochester Academy of Sciences Fall Scientific Paper Session, Nov 11, 2017, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY.
• “Optimization of Parameters for Carbene Labelling of Gas Phase Peptide Ions: A Novel Technique for Studying Protein Topography.” Gregory Ballard and Paul Martino. 44th Annual Rochester Academy of Sciences Fall Scientific Paper Session, Nov 11, 2017, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY.
• “A Routine HPLC ESI-MS Method to Screen Drug Effectiveness in Inhibition of Amyloid-Beta Peptide Aggregation.” Madison Herbert and Paul Martino. The 68^th Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Columbia, SC, October 22, 2016.
• “Molecular Inhibition of Oligomer Formation and Amyloid-Beta Aggregation.” Daniel Higgins and Paul Martino. The 68^th Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Columbia, SC, October 22, 2016.
• “Inhibition of Microtubule Affinity-Regulating Kinase-2 in Regards to the Hyperphosphorylation of the Tau Protein.” Jared Reed and Paul Martino. The 68^th Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Columbia, SC, October 22, 2016.
• “A routine ESI-MS method to screen drug effectiveness in inhibition of Amyloid-Beta Peptide aggregation rate.” Madison Herbert and Paul Martino. The 67^th Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Memphis, TN, November 7, 2015.
• “Synthesis of Resveratrol Analog to Block AB-peptide (1-40) Aggregation.” Jared Reed and Paul Martino. The 67^th Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Memphis, TN, November 7, 2015.
• “Synthesis of Chalcones that Mimic Resveratrol and Curcumin and Inhibit Amyloid-Beta (1-40) Aggregation.” Corey Bray and Paul Martino. The 67^th Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Memphis, TN, November 7, 2015.
• “Inhibition of Oligomer formation and Aβ Aggregation in Alzheimer’s Disease.” Daniel Higgins and Paul Martino. The 67^th Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Memphis, TN, November 7, 2015.
• “Elucidating the interaction of copper (II) with human prion protein (106-126) using labeling electrospray deposition and mass spectrometry.” Mark A. Carver and Paul Martino. The 66^th Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Nashville, TN, October 19, 2014.
• “Rapid gas-phase carbene labeling and top-down mass spectrometry provides topographical structural information.” Daniel Therrien, Douglas Steiner, Elizabeth Campbell, Mark Carver, Emily Hammer, Margaret Cothern, and Paul Martino. The 62st ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, Baltimore, MD, June 15-19, 2014.
• “Elucidating the interaction of resveratrol with amyloid-β (1-40) using labeling electrospray deposition and mass spectrometry.” Jeddidiah W. Griffin and Paul Martino. The 62st ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, Baltimore, MD, June 15-19, 2014.
• “Inhibition of amyloid-beta (1-40) aggregation by synthetic resveratrol analogs.” Caleb M. Gibson and Paul Martino. The 246^th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Indianapolis, IN, September 8-10, 2013.
• “New electrospray mass spectrometry-based assay for measuring drug inhibition of amyloid-beta (1-40) peptides.” Elizabeth J. Campbell and Paul Martino. The 246^th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Indianapolis, IN, September 8-10, 2013.
• “Can structural elements of proteins be identified by mass spectrometry and rapid derivatization in electrospray plumes?” Paul Martino, Ga-Ram Han, Joshua Denny, Jennifer Bowman, Chance Lewis, Douglas Steiner, and Daniel Therrien. The 61st ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, Indianapolis, IN, June 9-13, 2013.
• “Insulin as a model for amyloid-β fibril inhibition studies using rapid derivatization in electrospray plumes.” Jeddidiah W. Griffin and Paul Martino. The 61st ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, Indianapolis, IN, June 9-13, 2013.

Other Interests/Hobbies/Enjoyments

Fly fishing local (and distant) rivers and streams. Tying flies and building Tonkin split-cane fly rods.

Although I have loved many aspects of math and science since middle-school, I really connected with chemistry while taking organic chemistry during my sophomore year in college. It was one of the first classes that really challenged me, and also energized me. I was drawn in to the problem-solving approach and the process felt so rewarding. It was clear to me that God had wired me this way to do His work. Working as a process chemist at Eli Lilly and Company also allowed me to see how chemistry can be used to help people through the development of new drugs. Learning chemistry over the years has helped me to see how much chemistry is present in all of what we do on a daily basis. I teach chemistry to help open student’s eyes to this as well.

I am glad to have the opportunity to be back at Houghton as a professor since Houghton made such a large impact on my life as both a scientist and a Christian. I’m glad that I am able to share my experiences after Houghton with current students and help them to see the wide range of opportunities open to students with degrees in chemistry and biochemistry.