Christine Piro

Christine Piro is a Professor of Chemistry at Franklin & Marshall College, serving as Don of Bonchek College House. She holds dual appointments in mentoring undergraduate researchers and conducting cutting-edge biochemical research. Her work focuses on leveraging non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) to study protein structure/function and cellular environmental sensing mechanisms.

• Education: A.B. in Chemistry/Mathematics from Vassar College; Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from MIT; Postdoc at UC Berkeley and Scripps Research Institute
• Research: Three core areas: (A) ncAA vibrational reporters for structural analysis; (B) ncAA-mediated protein function tuning; (C) small molecule/ion sensing proteins
• Labs: Collaborates with Professors Scott Brewer and Edward Fenlon on ncAA innovations

Award-winning scholar with $666,000+ in grants including NSF CAREER and Dreyfus Foundation support. Has mentored over 40 undergraduate researchers across disciplines.