Michelle Hamm

Michelle Hamm, Associate Professor of Chemistry, has received an award from the National Science Foundation in support of her research. Supported under the Research in Undergraduate Institutions program, Hamm’s project is “Chemical Investigations into the Bioactivity of the DNA Lesion 8-Oxo-2”-deoxyguanosine.”

The award is for $108,000 for one year, with two additional years of support expected for a total of $244,000. The grant will support summer salary for Hamm and two undergraduate students, instrumentation, materials, supplies and travel to present results an national professional meetings.

In describing the project, Hamm said, “this project will expand research begun under a 2003 NSF-CAREER award, and focuses on using synthesized analogues to better understand the base pairing, repair and replication of one of the most common types of DNA damage.” This DNA lesion has been linked to ageing as well as several diseases, and the investigation will provide a framework for better understanding of the chemical nature of DNA mutation and repair.

Hamm has been at the University of Richmond since 2001, and has received other research grants from NSF, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, the American Chemical Society and the Jeffress Trust.