Analytical | Cannabis Science Center | SIU

Analytical Cannabis at SIU

With the guidance of Aldwin Anterola, Gary Kinsel, and Mary Kinsel, the Analytical Cannabis component of our center will offer students an in-depth opportunity to become familiar with and compete in an ever-expanding market.

Aldwin Anterola

Aldwin, shown in the photo above, is professor of phytochemistry and plant secondary metabolism at SIU, and his research involves studying the biosynthesis of plant constituents that have medicinal or industrial uses. We employ multidisciplinary techniques in phytochemistry, molecular biology, biochemistry and tissue culture to understand how the production of plant natural products is controlled. One long-term goal is to be able to systematically manipulate metabolic pathways for increased production of economically important compounds, as well as to generate novel chemical structures (that may have useful properties) from existing natural templates. Research projects include: (1) development of plant bioreactors that serve as metabolic platforms producing specialty chemicals, e.g. drugs, dyes and perfumes; (2) elucidation of pathways leading to the formation of naturally occurring medicinal compounds in plants, such as biflavonoids, diterpenes and eicosanoids; and (3) isolation and identification of secondary metabolites that target the arachidonic acid inflammatory cascade. Any inquiries on these research activities from potential students and collaborators are most welcome.

Gary Kinsel

Gary Kinsel is Professor and Vice Chancellor of Reserch at Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences. Current research interests of the Kinsel Group include:

The synthesis and optimization of Matrix-Assisted Laser/Desorption Ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry based bioselective sensors for the discovery of novel cellular biomarkers.

The investigation of laser initiated donor to biomolecule intracluster proton transfer for the elucidation of the mechanism of MALDI analyte ionization.

Mary Kinsel

Dr. Mary Kinsel earned her PhD. in Analytical Chemistry under the instruction of Professor David H. Russell at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She has 17 years of industrial and academic experience in the application of mass spectrometry to the characterization of biological samples.

Dr. Kinsel joined the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 2005 as Director of the Mass Spectrometry Facility.

Select images above, Shutterstock.