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SUMMARY:Chemical Engineering Fall Seminar Series: Trevor Sherwood
DESCRIPTION:Discovery of BMS-986526\, an EP4 agonist for the treatment of IBD using a direct-to-biology platform \nLocation: 108 Snell Engineering Center \nAbstract: This seminar will cover a brief overview of medicinal chemistry and the discovery of an EP4 agonist for IBD. The EP4 receptor is a GPCR expressed in multiple tissues. In the intestines\, the activation of EP4 is linked to restitution of the intestinal epithelial barrier and anti-inflammatory effects on immune cells\, making it a target of interest for IBD. However\, EP4 expression in other tissues complicates the utility of EP4 agonists. For instance\, EP4 agonism in systemic circulation has been shown to result in changes in heart rate and blood pressure. We set out to identify selective EP4 agonists with minimal systemic exposure outside of the gastrointestinal tract. Our campaign began with a high throughput screen which identified a triazine chemotype that was elaborated into a lead compound which demonstrated high circulating exposure. To identify compounds with lower exposure\, a direct-to-biology campaign leveraging a nanosynthesis platform was undertaken\, enabling us to rapidly explore novel chemical space and identify BMS-986526\, a lead that was subsequently nominated as a development candidate. This presentation will describe our lead chemotype\, the execution of our nanosynthesis and direct-to-biology campaign\, and the in vivo profile of BMS-986526 and other related lead compounds. \n\nTrevor Sherwood is a Scientific Associate Director in the Bristol Myers Squibb Discovery Chemistry group in Princeton\, NJ. He earned his B.S. in chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2008 and then earned his Ph.D. in 2013 with Prof. Scott Snyder at Columbia University where he completed multiple total syntheses of alkaloid and polyphenolic natural products. In 2013\, Trevor joined BMS where he has performed research in immunology\, oncology\, and neuroscience and has led multiple drug discovery programs. He is passionate about LGBTQ representation in chemistry and co-organized a session at the 2024 Spring ACS National Meeting featuring presentations from LGBTQ medicinal chemists.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/chemical-engineering-fall-seminar-series-trevor-sherwood/
LOCATION:108 SN
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261014T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261014T110000
DTSTAMP:20260930T140317Z
CREATED:20260930T140317Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260930T140317Z
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SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Nora Khalil
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nNora Khalil \nTitle:\nAdvancing Automated Mechanism Generation for Fluorinated Systems: Improved Fluorocarbon Combustion Prediction and Novel Capabilities for PFAS Degradation Chemistry in RMG \nDate:\n10/14/2026 \nTime:\n10:00:00 AM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Richard West (Advisor)\nProf. Qing Zhao\nProf. William H. Green\nProf. Phil Westmoreland \nLocation:\nRichards 229 \nAbstract:\nThe transition to environmentally friendly refrigerants and fire suppressants requires balancing low global warming potential (GWP) and ozone depletion potential (ODP) against unpredictable flammability\, motivating the need for reliable computational tools capable of screening candidate compounds and blends. Reaction Mechanism Generator (RMG)\, an open-source software package for automated kinetic mechanism construction\, has recently been extended to include halogen chemistry\, enabling the generation of halocarbon combustion models. This dissertation builds on that foundation\, addressing gaps in RMG’s predictive accuracy for halocarbon refrigerants and extending its capabilities to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). \nThe first part of this work targets RMG’s halocarbon combustion chemistry through a series of related projects: refining and validating fluorinated reaction kinetics against experimental ignition delay and flame speed data collected in collaboration with external research groups\, improving an existing suppression model for a common fire suppressant and systematically comparing strategies for constructing multi-component refrigerant blend mechanisms. The second part extends RMG’s chemistry to PFAS thermal degradation\, incorporating newly computed reaction rates and thermochemical data—developed in collaboration with external quantum chemistry researchers—into RMG’s database to enable the automated generation of mechanisms capturing key PFAS decomposition pathways\, with validation against experimental decomposition data and extension to additional emerging PFAS compounds. \nCollectively\, this dissertation improves RMG’s predictive capability for fluorinated chemistry\, strengthening its utility for both refrigerant flammability screening and PFAS degradation modeling. \n\nNora Khalil is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University\, working in the Computational Modeling in Chemical Engineering Lab under Dr. Richard West. Her research focuses on extending Reaction Mechanism Generator (RMG)\, an open-source software for automated kinetic mechanism generation\, to model halocarbon refrigerant combustion and the thermal degradation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Her work combines database development\, machine learning-based decision tree algorithms\, and collaborative quantum chemistry to improve RMG’s predictive accuracy for fluorinated chemistry\, with applications spanning refrigerant flammability screening and PFAS remediation. Nora holds a B.S. in Chemical/Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Connecticut. She is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship\, the AAC&U Convergence Fellowship\, and the STARS Fellowship\, and has presented her research at numerous national and international combustion and chemical engineering conferences.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-nora-khalil/
LOCATION:MA
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261016T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261016T130000
DTSTAMP:20261002T173521Z
CREATED:20261002T173504Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261002T173521Z
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SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Benjamin Leifer
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nBenjamin Leifer \nTitle:\nElectrolyte Design\, Interfacial Stability\, and Cell Scale-up for Low-Temperature Lithium-Ion Batteries \nDate:\n10/16/2026 \nTime:\n12:00:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Joshua Gallaway (Advisor)\nProf. Qing Zhao\nDr. Yunume Fitchrova\nProf. Juner Zhu \nLocation:\nRyder 233 \nAbstract:\nLithium-ion batteries supply energy for transportation and equipment that must operate across a wide range of environmental conditions. At low temperature\, slower ion transport and electrode reactions increase polarization and reduce the capacity and energy available from the cell. Electrolyte design offers a route to improving cold operation\, but useful liquid transport must be accompanied by stable and reversible reactions at both electrodes. \nThe low cost and freezing points of ether solvents make them particularly attractive as platforms for low-temperature batteries\, but ether reactivity at the operating potentials of lithium-ion batteries hinders their adoption. Interphase-forming additives complement these transport properties by modifying electrode-electrolyte compatibility and subsequent charge storage. As cells are scaled up to application-relevant sizes\, electrolyte inventory plays a key role in managing separator wetting and electrode access\, also key determinants of low-temperature performance. \nThis dissertation examines how electrolyte composition\, electrode passivation\, and liquid inventory govern low-temperature battery performance. Mixtures of 1\,2-dimethoxyethane and tetrahydrofuran are investigated across solvent ratios and lithium-salt concentrations using Raman and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy\, conductivity measurements\, and electrochemical testing. The selected tetrahydrofuran-rich mixture retains higher conductivity than a conventional carbonate electrolyte at −40 °C\, while increasing salt concentration strengthens Raman responses associated with solvent coordination and ion association. Fluoroethylene carbonate\, vinylene carbonate\, and their combination are then evaluated as electrolyte additives through graphite\, positive-electrode\, and full-cell comparisons. Additive incorporation\, even in low amounts\, improves electrode-electrolyte compatibility while retaining useful cold transport. \nFinally\, a separate study of methyl propionate/fluoroethylene carbonate examines electrolyte fill effects in large format 1 Ah pouch cells. Increasing fill reduces room-temperature polarization and improves low-temperature discharge capacity in the 1 Ah cells. At the selected fill\, the prototype-scale 13 Ah cells deliver capacity and energy comparable to those of the control electrolyte. These findings establish a basis for selecting electrolytes through combined evaluation of cold transport\, electrode compatibility\, and electrolyte inventory in practical cell architectures. \n\nBenjamin Henry Leifer is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University\, where he works with Professor Joshua W. Gallaway on lithium-ion batteries for cold environments. He grew up in Newton\, Massachusetts\, and earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis in 2016. Before joining Northeastern\, he worked at Veloxint Corporation on alloy development for high wear and 3-D metal printing\, and at Cabot Corporation on materials for lithium-ion batteries. His doctoral research examines how electrolyte chemistry and cell design influence battery performance in low-temperature lithium-ion batteries\, from reactions at electrode surfaces to the operation of larger cells. Outside the lab\, he can be found at various local parks with his wife\, Miri\, chasing after their two young children\, Ike and Ruthie.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-benjamin-leifer/
LOCATION:MA
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