Elizabeth Rose Middleton
Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry
“The goal of the biophysical chemist is to provide physical explanations for the ways in which important biological systems function. Techniques needed to reach this goal are drawn from many disciplines, including chemistry, physics, and biology.”
— Yale Department of Chemistry
More About Me
Research Interests
Elizabeth Middleton’s research focuses on the membrane interactions of the antimicrobial peptide Maximin 3 using a variety of fluorescence techniques, including FRET, fluorescence anisotropy, dequenching leakage assays, and fluorescence microscopy. She is also interested in developing fluorescence-based labs for biochemistry and general chemistry and providing research opportunities for undergraduates.
Representative Courses
Fall:
- Biochemistry Lecture (syllabus, course info)
- Biochemistry Lab (syllabus, course info)
- (Organic Chemistry I Lab, course info)
Spring:
- General Chemistry II Lecture (syllabus, course info)
- General Chemistry II Lab (syllabus, course info)
- Science in the Modern World: Food Science (syllabus, course info)
Summer:
- Should I Eat That? The Science of Food Safety (syllabus, course info)
Publications
Presentations / Conferences
Undergraduate Research
Presentations
- Preis, E., Middleton, E.R. Maximin 3 binding and leakage of membranes made with Escherichia coli polar lipid extract. SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference, Farmingdale, NY, 2019.
- King, S. A., Middleton, E.R. The Effect of Decreased Membrane Fluidity on The Efficacy of the Antimicrobial Peptide Maximin 3. SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference, Selden, NY, 2017.
- Lebron, P., Bergstresser, S., Middleton, E.R. Correlation between membrane binding and disruption by the antimicrobial peptide Maximin 3. ACS Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting, Riverdale, NY, 2016.
- Lipscomb, T. Towards Identifying the Antimicrobial Action of Maximin 3 From Bombina maxima Using GROMACS. SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference, Brockport, NY, 2015.
- Lebron, P. Membrane Binding and Leakage Properties of Antimicrobial Peptide Maximin-3. SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference, Brockport, NY, 2015.
- Herbst, B., Glatz, J., Middleton, E.R. Characterization of Maximin 3 structure and membrane leakage. Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, 2015.
- Sabine, J., Middleton, E.R. Antimicrobial Peptides and Anisotropy. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, San Antonio, TX, 2014.
- Litchmore, T., Middleton, E.R. Antimicrobial Peptides and Anisotropy. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, Nashville, TN, 2013.
- DeLuca, J., Paulson, J., Elbadawi, K., Hulbert, J., Dalmeus, P., Alexandre, S., Middleton, E.R. Membrane-binding properties of the antimicrobial peptide Maximin 3. Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2013.
- Dalmeus, P., Middleton, E.R. Membrane Disruption Potential of Maximin 3. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, San Jose, CA, 2012.
- Alexandre, S., Middleton, E.R. Structure of Maximin 3 Antimicrobial Peptide. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, San Jose, CA, 2012.
Senior Projects
2018-2019
- Kirah Brown: Isolation of antimicrobial compounds from Taraxacum officinale
- Sabrina Caione: Isolation and Characterization of Lactate Dehydrogenase
- Eden Preis: Maximin 3 binding and leakage of membranes made with Escherichia coli polar lipid extract
- Abinaya Subramanain: Molecular Modeling Simulations of Sweet Ligand Docking
2017-2018
- Simone Ferrantello: Maximin 3 Interactions and Leakage with the Lipid Vesicles Extracted from Klebsiella pneumoniae
- Sara Ann King: Modeling the Effects of Membrane Saturation on the Efficacy of Maximin-3 Using Harvested Escherichia coli Lipids
- David Rowland: Maximin-3 Binding interaction with Bacillus megaterium lipids
- Tejaswi Tatineni: A Molecular Dynamic Simulation on Initial Binding Affinity of Maximin 3
2016-2017
- Sara Bergstresser: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Antimicrobial Peptide Maximin 3
- Connor Brown: Quantifying the efficacy of antimicrobial peptide Maximin-3 in inducing leakage in model cells made from bacterial lipids extracted from Escherichia coli
- Sabine Jocelyn: Maximin 3 Binding interaction with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus lipid extracts
2015-2016
- Rachael Chabot: The binding affinity of the antimicrobial peptide Maximin 3 to bacterial membranes of varying curvature via fluorescence anisotropy
- Julienne Dorceus: Antimicrobial Peptides: The Effects of Cholesterol on the Binding Properties of Maximin-3
- David Rovello: Binding characteristics of the Antimicrobial Peptide Maximin 3 Under Variable Liposome Sizes
2014-2015
- Jeidar Cole: Effect of Exercise on Antioxdant Levels
- Jeremiah Curtis-Shanley: Chemical Playgrounds: Teaching Children Professional Science Through Playing with Chemicals
- Pedro Lebron: Characterization of the Binding Properties of Antimicrobial Peptide Maximin-3 to Bacterial Membranes
- Thomas Lipscomb: Towards Finding the Antimicrobial Mechanism of Action of Bombina maxima’s Maximin 3, Using GROMACS
- Jay Ruiz: Effects of Exercise on Antioxidants Levels
- Ryuuichi Uehara: An Indirect Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for Detection of Cry1Ac protein in Maize
2013-2014
- Awingrug Anaaba: Membrane binding of an Antimicrobial Peptide Maximin 3
- Jillian Glatz: Vesicle leakage with the Maximin 3 petide from Bombina maxima
- Brian Herbst: FRET Determined Intramolecular Distance of Maximin-3 Antimicrobial Peptide on Model Bacterial and Mammalian Vesicles
2012-2013
- Imran Baksh: Maximin 3 Binding Properties in E.Coli
- Joseph DeLuca: Structural Characterization of Maximin 3 using Fluorometer Anisotropy and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Analysis
- James Paulson: Using Bioinformatics to Predict the Binding Conformations of Antimicrobial Bombina maxima peptides
2011-2012
- Kareem Elbadawi: Biophysical characterization of binding and permeabilization of E. coli by Maximin 3
- Jessica Hulbert: Maximin 3: Mechanisms of Membrane Disruption
Bridges to Baccalaureate Participants
2018
- Fatima Gaye
- Christine Noel
- Emily Strickland
- Phillip White
2017
- Marie Bigot
- Gizel Brewer
- Aiseosa Irowa
- Maria Leon
2016
- George Arce
- Amanda Denizard
- David Huerta-Morales
- Sarah Ann King
2015
- Edward Amelemah
- Tetiana Gavryshko
- Sabine Jocelin
- Amanda Valverde
2014
- Leslie Boze-Simpson
- Julienne Dorceus
- Sabine Jocelyn
- Johnathan Murphy
2013
- Bhawneet Chadha
- Tiphany Litchmore
- Ashley Murray
- Kayla Rodriguez
2012
- Sarafina Alexandre
- Presnel Dalmeus Jr.
- Olivia Robinson