Dr. Michele McGibony
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Professor
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Education
- B.S. Georgia Southern University (1993)
- Ph.D. University of Alabama (1997)
Dr. Michele Davis McGibony earned a BS in chemistry from Georgia Southern University in 1993 and completed a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Alabama in 1997, where her research focused on adult-onset diabetes, glucose metabolism, and the metalloprotein chromadulin. She joined the Chemistry Department at Georgia Southern in 2000 as an assistant professor of biochemistry. Dr. McGibony maintains an active undergraduate research group, and her research students regularly present their work at local, regional, and national scientific meetings. Current research projects in her laboratory include investigations of the iron chelation ability of the marine metabolite adenochrome and of the biological activity of synthetically produced derivatives of dragmacidins. Dr. McGibony is also the advisor to the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society of Georgia Southern University, who have earned Outstanding Chapter Awards for the past two years. In her free time, Dr. McGibony enjoys spending time with her husband, reading, water-skiing, wakeboarding, and playing the piano.
Research
My research is in the area of bioinorganic chemistry which investigates the role of metals in biological processes and their use in medical treatments. Of primary interest is the isolation and preparation of novel iron-chelation therapy drugs. This class of drugs is used to reduce the amount of “free iron” in the bloodstream which can occur from medical treatments for anemia, genetics, and certain diets. Free iron can generate oxygen radicals that can lead to heart disease, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. My research students have isolated the novel marine metabolite adenochrome from the branchial hearts of an octopus and are attempting to characterize the material utilizing several spectroscopic techniques and determine its potential for chelating iron.
A second bioinorganic research project focuses on the protein chromadulin. It has recently been shown that the oligopeptide chromadulin (or also known as low-molecular-weight chromium-binding substance, LMWCr) binds to insulin receptor in response to insulin. This interaction results in the signal of insulin to be increased, which is a must for people suffering from adult-onset diabetes (90% of all diabetes cases in the United States). This is a condition where body tissues become insensitive to insulin. Chromadulin has been isolated from dog’s liver, beef liver, and shrimp. My research team will attempt to isolate chromadulin from an octopus liver via ultrafiltration, ion-exchange chromatography, and electrophoresis. The isolated product will be characterized on the basis of structure and function and compared the other known chromodulins.
Another interest of mine is a class of bis(indole) alkaloids isolated from marine sponges called dragmacidins. These natural products are quite interesting due to their wide range of biological activities; they are inhibitors of protein phosphatases (PP1 and PP2) and possess anti-viral and anti-cancer activities. My research students will attempt to isolated these types of compounds from local marine sponges and determine their structures via 1H and 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, and infrared spectrometry. The newly isolated materials will be tested for biological and pharmacological activity along with recently synthesized dragmacidins derivatives prepared by Dr. Christine Whitlock’s research team.
Courses Taught
- CHEM 1140 Introduction to General, Organic & Biological Chemistry
- CHEM 1145 Principles of Chemistry I
- CHEM 1146 Principles of Chemistry II
- CHEM 5541 Biochemistry I
- CHEM 5542 Biochemistry II
Selected Publications
- Hand, J. Kevin, Sears, R. Bryan, and Davis-McGibony, C. Michele Phosphonylation of an Alkyl Bromide. Synthetic Pages, 2005, 226.
- Stewart, Amanda L., Askea, Meaghan E., Hill, April J., and Davis, C. Michele Isolation of Adenochrome from the Branchial Hearts of the Common Brown Octopus. Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research, 2004, 3, 1, 1-5.
- Davis, C. Michele and Vincent, John B. The Role of Chromium in Glucose Metabolism. Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 1998, 2, 675-679.
Awards & Recognitions
- 1998 Graduate School of the The University of Alabama Outstanding Dissertation Award
- 1998 Chemistry Department of The University of Alabama Outstanding Graduate Student Award
- 1997 Graduate School of the The University of Alabama Award for Excellence in Research by a Doctoral Student
- 1996 Alan Hisey Memorial Endowed Biochemistry Scholarship
- 1993 American Institute of Chemistry Foundation Award for Outstanding Chemistry Senior
Last updated: 4/15/2024