Analytical Chemistry

Jocelyn M. Macho is a multidisciplinary scientist with expertise in natural product isolation, analytical chemistry, and synthetic biology. Her research interests include addressing environmental and sustainability challenges through the use of microorganisms and plants.
Jocelyn received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Florida (2016), engaging in undergraduate research in the laboratories of the late Prof. Alan Katritzky and Prof. Alexander J. Grenning. She spent a summer working with Prof. Tadeusz F. Molinski at UC San Diego (2015) isolating terpenes with anti-fungal activity from marine sponges.

She began graduate school at UT Southwestern Medical Center under Prof. John B. MacMillan, soon relocating with him to the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) where she would earn her Ph.D. in 2021. In the MacMillan lab, Jocelyn isolated novel boron-containing macrolides from marine Streptomyces which exhibited selective mosquito toxicity. Throughout her work, she developed extensive proficiency with HPLC instrumentation, including isolation of metabolites, software, and hardware maintenance and repair. Additionally, she is an expert in spectroscopy, encompassing 1H, 13C, 11B, 15N nuclei as well as 2D NMR and custom pulse sequences – skills required for the structure elucidation of her complex boron macrolide as an isolation chemist.  

Seeking to expand her skillset, Jocelyn began her current position as a postdoctoral associate at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in La Jolla, CA working under Prof. Christopher L. Dupont. In tandem with Prof. Erin Garza, she is performing genomic modifications of Alteromonas sp. to study carbon- and iron-cycling in marine environments and of Phystocomitrella patens to understand the symbiotic relationship and nutrient exchange between bryophytes and cyanobacteria.

As a first-generation student, Jocelyn has been involved in various programs to promote minority student success in higher education and Equitable and Inclusive (E+I) learning. At the JCVI, she is currently serving as Internship Program Coordinator, helping revamp and restructure their summer internship program and the Education Department within JCVI overall. She also serves as a Design Team Leader through UCSC’s Institute of Science and Engineer Educators (ISEE) to promote Active and Inquiry-based Learning amongst other STEM educators. With ISEE, she has taught at UCSC's WEST and ACCESS, and at the University of Hawai’I at Hilo’s Kanu a Kupu, summer bridge programs.

Outside of work, Jocelyn enjoys reading, thrifting, arts & crafts, and playing video games alongside her husband (who also happens to be a UCSD Extended Studies instructor!). She also loves all things Disney.

Dr. Sara Smith is the Manager of Research Applications and Biochemical Diagnostics at Revvity Omics in Pittsburgh, PA. She leads a team of talented scientists to develop and validate new clinical assays with a primary focus on the utilization of mass spectrometry methodologies to measure the presence of disease biomarkers in various biological sample types.

Sara earned her doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. Her studies were focused on understanding the metabolism of novel anti-cancer agents.

Jacob Strain is a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Texas at Austin where he is currently working on organic-Silicon interfaces. He has over 15 years of laboratory experience and has published numerous articles. He is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and received his Ph.D. from the University of Louisville, where he studied the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide.