Jeannine M. Chan, PhD

Associate Professor
503-352-2117
UC Box 
A121
Douglas C. Strain Science Center 108 (Forest Grove)
Areas I Teach 

Course Information

At Pacific University, all faculty teach a variety of different courses. Typically, we do not use graduate teaching assistants, which means that your classes will be taught by professors and that you will have plenty of opportunities to get to know the faculty in your discipline.

Below I have listed some of the courses that I teach. We are always developing and trying out new classes, so the list may change now and then.

CHEM 220 | General Chemistry I

CHEM 240 | Survey of Organic Chemistry

CHEM 380 | Biochemistry I

CHEM 480 | Biochemistry II

CHEM 481 | Biochemistry Laboratory

Education

PhD in Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan, Utah in 2001

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah in 1991

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah in 1991

Areas of Research & Specialization

Protein structure - function relationships of metalloenzymes. Studies in my lab focus on the bacterial enzymes of the global nitrogen cycle, the ecology of which can have substantial impacts to both agricultural productivity and water quality. Specifically, I am investigating the mechanism of the Mo-nitrogenase, which catalyzes biological nitrogen fixation (N2 to NH3), and the biosynthesis of nitrous oxide reductase, a copper-containing enzyme which catalyzes the last step of the denitrification pathway (N2O to N2).

Published Works

Chan, J. M., Bollinger, J. A., Grewell, C. L., Dooley, D. M. (2004) "Reductively activated nitrous oxide reductase reacts directly with substrate." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 3030-3031.

Sorlie, M., Chan, J. M., Wang, H., Seefeldt, L. C., Parker, V. D. (2003) "Elucidating thermodynamic parameters for electron transfer proteins using isothermal titration calorimetry: Application to the nitrogenase Fe protein." J. Biol. Inorg. Chem. 8, 560-566.

Chan, J. M., Wu, W., Dean, D. R., and Seefeldt, L. C. (2000) "Construction and characterization of a heterodimeric Fe protein: Defining roles for ATP in nitrogenase catalysis. Biochemistry 39, 7221-7228."

Christiansen, J., Chan, J. M., Seefeldt, L. C., and Dean, D. R. (2000) "The role of the MoFe protein a-125Phe and beta-125Phe residues in Azotobacter vinelandii MoFe protein-Fe protein interaction." J. Inorg. Biochem. 80, 195-204

Chan, J. M., Christiansen, J., Dean, D. R., and Seefeldt, L. C. (1999) "Spectroscopic evidence for changes in the redox state of the nitrogenase P-cluster during turnover." Biochemistry 34, 5779-5785.

Chan, J. M., Ryle, M. J., and Seefeldt, L. C. (1999) "Evidence that MgATP accelerates primary electron transfer in a Clostridium pasteurianum Fe protein-Azotobacter vinelandii MoFe protein nitrogenase tight complex." J. Biol. Chem. 274, 17593-17598.

Cool Biochemistry Links

Medline: Biochemistry Literature Database from the National Institutes of Healt

Medlineplus: Website for accessing general medical information.

Biochemical and Metabolic Pathways Chart

Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM): Database of genetic disease

Biochemical Journal Titles and Abbreviations

Nobel Prize Website

Lasker Award for Medical Research: Educational information and awardee interviews

Howard Hughes Medical Institute's 2002 Holiday Lectures on Science

EPAs Green Chemistry

Tulane University's Environmental Estrogens website

EPA Columbia River Fish Contaminant Survey

Cornell University Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors Program

Headlines

Jeannine Chan

Chan joined Pacific’s Chemistry Department in 2006 and teaches foundational and upper-level chemistry courses, while mentoring student research

Pharmacy Students

School of Pharmacy faculty and students had a great experience at the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting, which brought together several societies, among them the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) and the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).

John Harrelson

The National Institutes of Health grant will fund research to evaluate a dietary agent, cinnamaldehyde, as a prototype for new orally-administered tobacco cessation agents.

The Medical Research Foundation, part of the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation, has awarded Dr. Harrelson the maximum offered through its New Investigator Grant program.

Tyler Oshiro '13 Giving a presentation

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has helped Pacific University launch a significant undergraduate research program, one that is giving students like Tyler Oshiro ’13 unprecedented opportunities.