Medicinal Plant Chemistry Seminar Series 2026
Chemistry
Dr. Harold Han, CSO Vertosa, will be presenting via Zoom, a seminar titled Cannabis Emulsion Science: Bridging Medicinal and Recreational Applications.
Dr. Harold Han, CSO Vertosa, will be presenting via Zoom, a seminar titled Cannabis Emulsion Science: Bridging Medicinal and Recreational Applications.
A presentation by Forensic Biochemistry major, Paige Weber. She interned at the Michigan State Police Crime Lab here in Marquette this fall semester. Paige will give a presentation on what that experience entailed for her.
Join medicinal plant chemistry seniors for the final presentation of their capstone projects! Twenty-four students are slated to present throughout the day in Northern Michigan University's Mead Auditorium. Scheduled presentations will be five to ten minutes in length. Please consider attending to lend your support. All are welcome. Hope to see you there!
Dr. Twinkle Paryani will be visiting Northern Michigan University from Abstrax Tech Inc. in Los Angeles, California. She will be the final guest speaker of the Medicinal Plant Chemistry Seminar Series 2025. All are welcome to attend!
We invite you to join the NMU Chemistry Department in welcoming the following guest speakers. All seminars will take place in TSB 2904 at 5 PM. Everyone is welcome to attend!
Wednesday, February 5 – Dr. James DeDecker
Topic: Cannabinoid Outcomes: Hemp Varieties and Agronomy
Wednesday, February 19 – Dr. Luke Busta
Topic: Citizen Science-Assisted Exploration of Lineage-Specific Epicuticular Wax Blooms
Wednesday, March 12 – Alumni Panel: Ethics in the Cannabis Industry
Featuring: Artie Bedford, Alex Dale, Haylee Kuehl-Weisser
Wednesday, April 2 – Alumni Panel: Exploring Career Paths
Featuring: Keegan Adams, Jacob Cortez, Joey Wienckowski
Wednesday, April 23 – Dr. Twinkle Paryani
Topic: Analysis of Non-Terpenoid Cannabis Volatiles
Dr. Luke Busta will be visiting NMU from the University of Minnesota Duluth where he is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
In addition to presenting his medicinal plant chemistry seminar, he will be meeting with students and faculty to discuss his research and the graduate program opportunities that UMD has to offer.
All are welcome, hope to see you there!
Please join the NMU chemistry department in welcoming Dr. James DeDecker from the Michigan State University - Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center. He will be the first speaker to present in the Medicinal Plant Chemistry Seminar Series 2025.
Join us for our February Pre-Pharmacy Meeting. Everyone is highly encouraged to attend, and we kindly ask that you RSVP on the Hub so we can get a headcount.
We’re excited to welcome Dr. Karen Ellingrod from the University of Michigan as our guest speaker. This is a fantastic opportunity to ask questions and gain insights into the field of pharmacy.
Refreshments will be provided—we hope to see you there!
Dr. Athar Ata, the Chair of the Chemistry Department at Michigan Tech University, will present the discovery of novel bioactive compounds from natural sources and synthetic organic chemistry. Their structure-activity relationships will be discussed as well. Additionally, a recently developed chemo-enzymatic approach to producing natural products on a large scale will also be presented.
Deciphering Monoterpene Indole and Oxindole Alkaloids Biosynthesis In Mitragyna Species
Presented via Zoom by Dr. Satya Swathi Nadakuduti
Dr. Satya Swathi Nadakuduti is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Horticulture at the University of Florida. Dr. Nadakuduti received her Ph.D. in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology from Michigan State University.
Her lab is interested in studying plants' specialized metabolism to understand the chemical diversity and identify compounds that have pharmaceutical value, and their potential for health benefits and applications in agriculture. Her research program integrates multi-disciplinary approaches such as biochemistry, genomics, gene discovery, and functional characterization to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of these compounds. Her group is also interested in targeted genome modifications using gene-editing technology such as CRISPR/Cas9 for agriculture crop improvement, as a functional genomics tool and to understand genome-wide off-target effects caused by gene-editing reagents. Her group is interested in micropropagation and implementing gene editing in medicinally relevant plant species.