Introducing New Members of the Faculty

To help introduce to the Cornell community the new members of the university's faculty, the Cornell Chronicle will be publishing a series of brief, new-faculty profiles each week during the semester.

Paul Chirik

Assistant professor, chemistry and chemical biology
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Research in the Chirik group is directed toward the design and construction of new and unusual classes of inorganic and organometallic transition metal complexes. The molecules they prepare are specifically targeted for a range of applications, including small-molecule activation; atom and group transfer reactions; materials chemistry; and asymmetric bond formation. Of particular interest is the preparation of new examples of transition metal-ligand multiple bonds. These molecules might allow access to a host of new examples of metal-mediated chemical transformations.
Previous position: Postdoctoral research fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000-2001.
Academic background: B.S., chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1995; Ph.D., chemistry, California Institute of Technology, 2000.

Dan Luo

Assistant professor, biological and environmental engineering
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Luo studies molecular bioengineering, trying to understand the uptake, transport, and targeting involved in macromolecule-based drugs to engineer efficient drug delivery systems for both research laboratories and clinics. In fall 2002 he will begin teaching a graduate course, Nucleic Acid Engineering; and an undergraduate course, Principles of Biological Engineering.
Previous position: Postdoctoral associate, chemical engineering, Cornell.
Academic background: B.S., biology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China, 1989; Ph.D., molecular, cellular and developmental biology, Ohio State University, 1997.

Helene Marquis

Assistant professor, bacteriology
College: Veterinary Medicine
Academic focus: Research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of Listeria monocytogenes pathogenesis.
Previous position: Assistant professor of microbiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Denver.
Academic background: D.E.C., health sciences, College of Rimouski, Quebec, 1974; D.V.M., University of Montreal, 1978; M.Sc., veterinary microbiology, University of Montreal, 1986; Ph.D., veterinary microbiology, Texas A&M University, 1991; postdoctoral research fellow, Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, 1992-97.

Marci A. Scidmore

Assistant professor, microbiology
College: Veterinary Medicine
Academic focus: Research in host-pathogen interactions, particularly by Chlamydia.
Previous position: Senior staff fellow, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, Montana.
Academic background: B.A., molecular biology, University of California-San Diego, 1987; M.A., 1989, and Ph.D., 1993, both in molecular biology from Princeton University.

October 25, 2001