About Jeremiah A. Johnson:
Contact Information:
Department of Chemistry
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 18-296
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 USA
Phone: (617) 253-1819
Email: jaj2109@mit.edu
Experience:
2011-present
Assistant Professor of Chemistry,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2009-2011
Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Scholar with Professors Robert H. Grubbs and David A. Tirrell,
California Institute of Technology
2005-2007
Graduate research with Professor M.G. Finn,
The Scripps Research Institute, summers
2004-2009
Graduate research with Professor Nicholas J. Turro,
Columbia University
2001-2004
Undergraduate research with Karen L. Wooley,
Washington University in St. Louis
Education:
2009
Columbia University,
Ph. D., Chemistry
2004
Washington University in St. Louis, B.S.,
Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry
Latest News:
13 May 2013: Alex's "addressable carbenes for gold surfaces" paper appears online. Congrats Alex!
3 May 2013: The group welcomes Oh Seok Kwon!
3 May 2013: Discussion of our "Network Disassembly Spectrometry" (NDS) method in PNAS:
23 April 2013: "Photo-growth" paper highlighted in Nature Chemistry:
27 February 2013: Huaxing's photo-growth paper highlighted by various media outlets:
Chemistry Views
SpectroscopyNOW
2 February 2013: The Johnson Group on their first somewhat annual ski trip:
18 January 2013: Huaxing's "photo-controlled gel growth" paper appears online. Congrats Huaxing!
16 January 2013 : Two bits of great news:
(1) Huaxing's "photo-controlled gel growth" paper chosen as a "Hot Paper" by the editors of Angewandte Chemie: Angewandte "Hot Papers"
(2) Huaxing's PNAS paper on counting loops highlighted in Nature News and Views: Nature News and Views
27 November 2012: "Brush-first" paper highlighted in SYNFACTS .
15 November 2012: The group welcomes four 1st-year graduate students: Angela, Ken, Michelle, and Molly!
9 November 2012: Counting loops by "S/L Method" paper appears in PNAS (click on the image below to access the paper). Congrats Huaxing, Jen, and Alexandra!
"Counting Loops" highlighted in MIT news!
"Counting Loops" highlighted in Nature!
4 October 2012: "Pseudo-alternating polymers" paper appears in Macromolecules. Congrats Alan and Alex!
6 September 2012: "Brush-first" paper appears in JACS. Congrats Jenny, Alan and Alex!
19 July 2012: The Johnson Group beach volleyball team:
1 June 2012: We welcome Eva-Maria Schoen to the group! Eva-Maria is visitng from Professor David Diaz Diaz's group. We are thrilled to have her here for the summer!
20 May 2012: The Johnson group celebrates their 6-month anniversary with an exciting day of food, drink, and laser tag.
8 May 2012: Johnson group journal blog launched. Click HERE to see what the group is reading.
30 March 2012: Alan O. Burts receives an NSF graduate fellowship. Alex receive's a Morse Travel Grant for the Fall 2012 ACS Meeting in Philadelphia. Congrats Alan and Alex!
17, 24 February 2012: The Johnson group celebrates the first annual Flory Day(s)! Each student gave a presentation on fundamental aspects of synthetic polymer chemistry. Topics included chain and step-growth polymerization, gelation and network formation, controlled polymerization processes, and polymer architectures. Fun was had by all.
11 November 2011: Welcome first year graduate students Alexandra, Jenny, Alan, Alex, and Jessica to the group! Also, welcome Huaxing Zhou (post-doc) and Elisha Yadgaran (UROP)! First group meeting today.
31 October 2011: Paper that describes EPR studies of nitroxide-labeled brush polymers appears in JACS.
8 September 2011: Classes begin! For info on Jeremiah's course, 5.53 Molecular Structure and Reactivity, go here .
15 August 2011: We welcome Jen Woo to the group!
11 July 2011: The Johnson Group begins! We welcome first year MIT graduate students Melissa Donaldson and Alan Burts!
9 June 2011: Thanks to Tim Swager for inviting Jeremiah to the NSF-sponsored "Future Faculty Workshop: Diverse Leaders of Tomorrow," which was held June 19-21 at the MIT Endicott House. For more information on this year's workshop click here .
1 July 2011: The Johnson group begins!
We seek to cultivate a vibrant and intellectually engaging atmosphere: an “incubator for discovery.”
Research:
The solutions to many of mankind’s greatest problems: prevention and treatment of disease, development of alternative energy sources, preservation of natural resources, etc… will rely on the interdisciplinary application of chemistry. The Johnson laboratory seeks creative, macromolecular solutions to problems at the interface of chemistry, medicine, biology, and materials science. Materials synthesis is approached in an analogous manner to natural-products synthesis; an interesting target structure is chosen and a synthetic scheme is designed to access that structure as efficiently as possible. The targets are designed de novo from careful consideration of the specific needs of a given application and with a particular emphasis on creative architectural design and function. The tools of traditional organic and organometallic synthesis, synthetic polymer chemistry, photochemistry, surface science, and biopolymer engineering are combined to realize the designs.
Just as natural-products chemists must often invent new reaction methodologies to access complex structures and their corresponding derivatives, the Johnson lab will seek to develop new methodologies for the construction and modification of complex material libraries. Iterative library synthesis, function-based screening, and design optimization will ultimately yield basic knowledge, such as structure-function relationships for materials in specific applications, and new materials-based technologies that outperform current alternatives. Some examples of target material platforms and their associated applications are: (1) novel, nanoscopic branched-arm star polymer architectures for in vivo drug/gene delivery and supported catalysis, (2) hybrid synthetic-natural hydrogels for correlation of the effects of network microstructure on cell response, and (3) new types of semiconducting organometallic polymers and polymer films for sensing, supported catalysis, and energy conversion. Taken as a whole, our research focuses on molecular design in three primary areas: nano-scale materials synthesis, macro-scale materials synthesis, and development of new chemical methods for modifying interfaces between bulk and nanoscale objects (surface chemistry).
Current Members:
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Alan Burts
Second Year Graduate Student
I was born in Evanston, IL and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago. After I received my B.S. in Chemistry from Chicago State University, I was a NIH Post-Baccalaureate Fellow in the laboratory of Robert H. Grubbs at California Institute of Technology. While at Caltech, I became interested in the synthesis of functional polymers for biological applications. It's my goal to improve upon and develop new polymeric systems that can aide in our fight against diseases. When not running reactions I enjoy playing basketball, watching sports, listening to music,
and playing poker.
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Alexandra Cok
Second Year Graduate Student
I am from Rochester, New York. I received my B.S. in chemistry and mathematics from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My undergraduate research focused on activation and imaging of the glucose transporter GluT1 in muscle cells. In the Johnson group, my research will focus on developing polymers for imaging and directed-drug delivery systems in vivo.
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Angela Gao
1st Year Graduate Student
I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I received my B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan. There I began undergraduate research with Anne McNeil, and I studied conjugated polymers. I’m excited to be a part of the Johnson research group, where I will be working with functional polymers with biological applications. In my free time I like to bake, rock out to music, and play euchre.
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Ken Kawamoto
1st Year Graduate Student
Ken studied chemistry and biology at Cornell University and graduated with a BA in May 2012. Although his undergraduate research was in small molecule synthesis, he is interested in polymer chemistry and counting primary loops. He is also an amateur powerlifter, likes to slackline, and enjoys going to BSO performances.
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Oh Seok Kown
Postdoctoral Scientist
I was born in Daegu South Korea. I was very curious about nature, so I want to be a scientist. I majored in Chemistry in the Yeung-Nam University. Especially, I enjoy organic synthesis and analytical chemistry. I obtained a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from Seoul National University. My Ph.D work focused on the fabrication of conductive nanomaterials and their sensor applications. At MIT I plan to combine my Chemistry and Chemical Engineering backgrounds to develop new surface modification methods for device optimization.
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Dr. Longyan Liao
Postdoctoral Scientist
I was brought up in a small town in South China and went to Peking University for undergraduate study. Then I went to University of Utah to pursue Ph.D. degree under the direction of Prof. Matthew Sigman, where my research was focused on organometallic chemistry. With all that, I am here today in Johnson group working on functional polymers for drug delivery, catalysis, surface modification etc. Out of the lab, I enjoy jogging, reading and watching football when the tickets are not too expensive.
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Jenny Liu
2nd Year Graduate Student
I was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; I received a B.S. in chemistry from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Through my undergraduate research experience, I became interested in the interdisciplinary nature of chemistry through work on metalloproteins, molecular electronics, and polyazobenzenes. As part of the Johnson group, I am excited to apply materials and synthetic chemistry for biological applications including therapeutic uses. In addition to chemistry, some of my favorite activities include exploring new places, capturing photos, and cooking up tasty dishes.
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Michelle MacLeod
2nd Year Graduate Student
I was raised in picturesque Ithaca, NY where I received my B.A. in chemistry and economics from Cornell University. During my undergraduate research with Francis DiSalvo, I became interested in materials science and inorganic chemistry. As a member of the Johnson group, I am excited to apply and expand upon my interests at the interface of organometallic and polymer chemistry. Beyond the lab, I enjoy cooking and exploring the great outdoors, even a bog on occasion.
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Jessica McCombs
2nd Year Graduate Student
I grew up in lovely Salt Lake City, Utah where I earned a B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Utah. Through my undergraduate research with Matthew Sigman, I developed an interest in transition metal catalysis. I am excited to apply and expand on these interests in my future work with functional polymers and nanotechnology here in the Johnson Lab. Besides my love for running reactions, I enjoy painting, playing women's lacrosse, and doing anything in the great outdoors.
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Molly Sowers
1st Year Graduate Student
I grew up in a Readlyn, Iowa and received my B.A. from Cornell College, a liberal arts school in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. I had planned to be a theoretical mathematician, but fell in love with organic chemistry the first time I worked in a lab. I performed research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying nitroxide radicals for the development of new MRI contrast agents. I am excited to continue working on medically relevant projects as a member of the Johnson group, where I will focus on functionality of drug loaded polymers. In my spare time, I enjoy playing guitar, singing, hiking, and playing board games.
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Elisha Yadgaran
UROP
I’m from Brooklyn, New York, born and raised. I am now a freshman ChemE major at MIT. Before
starting my undergraduate studies I took a year to study abroad. I interned at MSKCC during the
summer of my senior year in high school. While at MSKCC I became interested in the ways tumors can
be specifically targeted with drugs. I am really happy to be a part of the Johnson Group and I hope to
learn a lot. When I’m not in the lab or psetting, I like to play basketball, practice jiu jutsu, and hang out
with friends.
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Huaxing Zhou
Postdoctoral Scholar
I was born in Xinyang, a small tea-producing city in Henan province, P.R.China, and raised in Wuhan, the biggest city in central China. After four busy but memorable college years in the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), I decided to pursue higher education in the US. In 2011, I earned my Ph.D. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the direction of Prof. Wei You, where my research was focused on the rational design of conjugated polymers as polymer solar cell materials. As a postdoc fellow in Johnson group, I am interested in the synthesis of functional polymers with various architectures and their applications in drug delivery, catalysis, imaging etc.
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Alex Zhukhovitskiy
2nd-Year Graduate Student
When I was 11, I moved from my hometown Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine to a suburb
of Chicago. As an undergraduate at Northwestern University, I completed the
Integrated Science Program, and studied mathematics and chemistry. Since my
first taste of chemistry research in Tobin Marks’s group and throughout my
work in SonBinh Nguyen’s group at NU I have been drawn to problems that
were at the interface of materials science and organic chemistry. In the Johnson
group, my research continues to be interdisciplinary, encompassing organic and
organometallic synthesis, polymer chemistry, and surface science. When not doing
chemistry, I enjoy playing guitar, soccer, and exploring Boston with my fiancé.
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Laio
2nd-Year Graduate Student
Profile here.
Former Members:
Selected Publications.
Zhukhovitskiy, A. V.; Mavros, M. G.; Van Voorhis, T.; Johnson, J. A.* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/ja401965d ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhou, H.; Johnson, J. A.* Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 2235-2238. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Li, W.; Chung, H.; Daeffler, C.; Johnson, J. A.*; Grubbs, R. H.* Macromolecules 2012, 45, 9595-9603. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhou, H.; Woo, J.; Cok, A. M.; Wang, M.; Olsen, B. D.; Johnson, J. A.* Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2012, 109, 19119-19124. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liu, J.; Burts, A. O.; Li, Y.; Zhukhovitskiy, A. Z.; Ottaviani, M. F.; Turro, N. J.; Johnson, J. A.* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 16337-16344. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burts, A. O.; Li, Y.; Zhukhovitskiy, A. Z.; Patel, P. R.; Grubbs, R. H.; Ottaviani, M. F.; Turro, N. J.; Johnson, J. A.* Macromolecules 2012, 45, 8310-8318. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xia, Y.; Li, Y.; Burts, A. O.; Ottaviani, M. F.; Tirell, D. A.; Johnson, J. A.*; Turro, N. J.*; Grubbs, R. H.* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 143, 19953-19959. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johnson, J. A.; Lu, Y.-Y.; Burts, A. O.; Lim, Y.-H.; Finn, M. G.; Koberstein, J. T.; Turro, N. J.; Tirrell, D. A.; Grubbs, R. H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 559-566. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johnson, J. A.; Lu, Y. Y.; Burts, A. O.; Xia, Y.; Durrell, A. C.; Tirrell, D. A.; Grubbs, R. H. Macromolecules 2010, 43, 10326-10335. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johnson, J. A.; Lu, Y. Y.; Van Deventer, J. A.; Tirrell, D. A. Curr. Opion. Chem. Biol. 2010, 14, 774-780. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johnson, J. A.; Baskin, J. M.; Bertozzi, C. R.; Koberstein, J. T.; Turro, N. J. Chem. Commun. (Cambridge, U. K.) 2008, 3064-3066. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johnson, J. A.; Finn, M. G.; Koberstein, J. T.; Turro, N. J. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2008, 29, 1052-1072. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johnson, J. A.; Finn, M. G.; Koberstein, J. T.; Turro, N. J. Macromolecules 2007, 40, 3589-3598. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johnson, J. A.; Lewis, D. R.; Diaz, D. D.; Finn, M. G.; Koberstein, J. T.; Turro, N. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 6564-6565.
Lab:
Instrumentation
Moving in: work in progress
