Denise Colby

Denise loading a compound on the 400 MHz NMR spectrometer.

Denise Colby graduated from Illinois State University in May 2004 with a double major in Biochemistry / Molecular Biology and Chemistry. Among her many accomplishments, Denise maintained a 4.0 GPA, was a Bone Scholar (ISU’s highest academic honor), received a Honors Program Undergraduate Research Scholarship, a Pfizer Summer Research Scholarship, was named as the American Chemical Society Outstanding Freshman Chemistry Student and Organic Chemistry student during her first two years, and was presented the Outstanding Biochemistry / Molecular Biology Award and Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Organic Chemistry Travel Award, sponsored by Johnson and Johnson. In her junior year, Denise was recognized with the prestigious Goldwater Fellowship, granted by the United States Congress to the top 100 science, math or engineering student in the country. Denise also found time to be a teaching assistant for organic Chemistry labs and acted as the lab instructor during her final semester at ISU. Following her studies in Germany this year, Denise begins the Ph.D. program at the University of California at Berkeley in the Fall of 2004.

Porphyrin syntheses presented by Denise at the Fall 2002
Chemistry Undergraduate Research Symposium

A native of Antioch, Illinois, Denise arrived at Illinois State University as a freshman Presidential Scholar, ISU’s highest academic scholarship for incoming students. Not only a fine student in the classroom, Denise also excelled in the research laboratory, spending three years conducting research in the laboratory of Dr. Timothy Lash. Denise investigated the synthesis of novel molecules related to the porphyrins, an important group of biological pigments. Denise has coauthored eight publications in major international research journals on her undergraduate studies on carbaporphyrins and azuliporphyrins..

Publications

Colby, D. A. and Lash, T. D. (2002) Calix[4]azulene. Journal of Organic Chemistry, 67, 1031-1033.

Graham, S. R., Colby, D. A. and Lash, T. D. (2002) Azulene analogues of tripyrranes and carbaporphyrinoids therefrom. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 41, 1371-1374.

Colby, D. A. and Lash, T. D. (2002) Adaptation of the Rothemund Reaction for Carbaporphyrin Synthesis: Preparation of meso-Tetraphenylazuliporphyrin and Related Benzocarbaporphyrins. Chemistry - A European Journal, 8, 5397-5402.

Lash, T. D., Colby, D. A. and Ferrence, G. M. (2003) Further Studies on the Synthesis of meso-Tetraarylazuliporphyrins under Lindsey-Rothemund Reaction Conditions and Their Conversion into Benzocarbaporphyrins. European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 4533-4548.

Lash, T. D., Colby, D. A., Graham, S. R., Ferrence, G. M. and Szczepura, L. F. (2003) Organometallic Chemistry of Azuliporphyrins: Synthesis, Spectroscopy, Electrochemistry and Structural Characterization of Nickel(II), Palladium(II) and Platinum(II) Complexes of Azuliporphyrins. Inorganic Chemistry, 42, 7326-7338.

Colby, D. A., Ferrence, G. M. and Lash, T. D. (2004) Oxidative Metalation of Azuliporphyrins with Copper(II) Salts: Formation of a Porphyrin Analogue System with a Unique Fully Conjugated Nonaromatic Azulene Subunit Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 43, 1346-1349. This paper was highlighted as a "frontispiece" that preceded the communication section in this issue of Angewandte Chemie.

Lash, T. D., Rasmussen, J. M., Bergman, K. M. and Colby, D. A. (2004) Carbaporphyrinoid chemistry has a silver lining! Silver(III) oxybenzi-, oxynaphthi-, tropi- and benzocarbaporphyrins. Organic Letters, 6, 549-552.

Lash, T. D., Colby, D. A. and Szczepura, L. F. (2004) New Riches in Carbaporphyrin Chemistry: Silver and Gold Organometallic Complexes of Benzocarbaporphyrins. Inorganic Chemistry, 43, in press.