Dr. Michael Bortner is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Faculty Fellow in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. Dr. Bortner’s research focuses on process-structure-property relationships in polymers and polymer composites, coupling rheology and morphology to guide development of novel chemistries and design of advanced manufacturing processes.
Dr. Daniel Crawford is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Director of the Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI) at Virginia Tech. His GlycoMIP research focuses on simulations of the spectroscopic properties of chiral molecules using advanced quantum chemical methods.
Dr. Kevin Edgar is a Professor of Biomaterials in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech. His GlycoMIP work focuses on design, synthesis, and characterization of polysaccharide derivatives, and probing structure-property-performance relationships, towards important and demanding biomedical applications.
Dr. Alan Esker is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Chemistry at Virginia Tech. He is also Education and Outreach Director for GlycoMIP. Dr. Esker specializes in the physical characterization of polymers and biopolymers at surfaces and interfaces.
Dr. Brady Hall is a Technical Manager of the GlycoMIP user facility. Dr. Hall specializes in the synthesis and characterization of glycomaterials with a prior focus towards the design and modification of synthetic glycopolymers.
Dr. Richard Helm is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Chief Scientific Officer for Fralin Life Sciences Core Services at Virginia Tech. He is also the GlycoMIP Director of Synthesis Services and specializes in applying mass spec. tools in the fields of metabolomics and proteomics.
Ms. Lauren Mills is the Program Coordinator for GlycoMIP.
Dr. Roberta Polak is the Compliance Advisory Specialist assigned to the Fralin LIfe Sciences Institute (FLSI). She joined the Environmental Health and Safety Department at Virginia Tech in January 2020. Her goal is to support the cutting-edge research at the FLSI flagship buildings and ensure the safety of its research community. She works closely with researchers to ensure they can follow their scientific pursuits, safely.
Dr. Ryan Porell is a Technical Manager of the GlycoMIP user facility. Dr. Porell specializes in glycobiology with a prior focus towards the design of immune-regulatory glycomaterials.
Dr. Maren Roman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech and is the Director of GlycoMIP. Her research focuses on the molecular properties and potential applications of carbohydrate-based materials.
Dr. Narasimhamurthy Shanaiah is an NMR Spectroscopist in the Department of Chemistry at Virginia Tech. Dr. Shanaiah specializes in providing NMR technical expertise to various research groups for the structural characterization of small molecules, carbohydrates, peptides, and proteins.
Dr. Robert Woods is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Chemistry, at the University of Georgia, and Associate Director of GlycoMIP. Dr. Woods specializes in biomolecular simulations and biophysics of carbohydrates, glycoproteins, and carbohydrate-protein complexes. He leads the development of the GLYCAM/AMBER force field and the GLYCAM-Web suite of online modeling tools.
