1. NICHOLAS CHRISTOPOULOS LENT
5 Scotland Place, Durham, NC 27705
919-489-9761
lentnc@guilford.edu
EDUCATION
GuilfordCollege B.S.in BiologyandChemistry 2016
 Areasof Concentration:Geneticsand bioengineering
 Honors Thesis:GeneticRepressionof the FMN Riboswitchin Klebsiella pneumonia
Usingthe CRISPR/Cas9System
 Awards:Presidential scholarshipforall fouryears
RESEARCH TOPICS
Geneticrepressionofthe FMN Riboswitchin Klebsiellapneumoniaeusingthe
CRISPR/Cas9 system:Projectfocusedonidentifyingpotential pathwaysfornew
medicationstoattackantibiotic-resistantbacteria. One suchpathway,the FMN
pathway,iscontrolledbythe FMN Riboswitch.The FMN Riboswitchcontrolsthe
productionof FMN, whose deficiencyisusuallylethal tomostbacteria. We used
the CRISPRsystem,whichallowsforselectivetargetingof DNA andcontrolled
DNA repressionwiththe Klebsiella puneumoniaebacterium. Klebsiella
puneumoniaeisacommonsource of secondaryinfectionsinhospitalsand
naturallyresistanttomanyformsof antibiotics. Resultssuggestthatthe FMN
pathwaymay be a viable targetfornewantibiotics.Thisstudywaspresentedat
NCUR and NCAS.
2016
UV VisCharacterization of Iron Cages:Projectfocusedonhost-guestchemistry
and howto tell if a guestmolecule hasbeencapturedbythe host. Thisprocessis
expensive because itisdone withanH NMR, whichrequireslarge sample sizes
and deuteriumwaterinordertogetaccurate readings. UV Visspectroscopyisan
alternative methodthatmaybe usedfor the same purpose andit furtherrequires
a smallersample. We usedanironioncage to capture a varietyof small organic
guestmoleculessuchascyclohexan,cyclopentanandaspirin. Bylookingatthe
amplitude of aspecificpeakanditsshiftinwavelength,we concludedthatthe
cage wasassembledandithadcapturedits guestmolecule.
Spring2016
Identificationof“green” solventsforuse in the productionof biphenyl via
home-couplingofbromobenzene:Solventscommonlyusedinchemical synthesis
industryare generallyvolatile,ecologicallyhazardous,andcannotbe disposedof
easily. The projectconcentratedonidentifyinganecologicallyfriendly
replacementforthe solventTetrahydrofuran(THF). We foundthat2-
methyltetrahydrofuranworkedwellasa substitute forTHF,wasmore stable and
more ecologicallyfriendly.
Spring2015
Calcineurininhibitionduringzebrafishheartdevelopmentblocksventricular
cardiomyocyte hypertrophyand leads to a spectrumof heart defects: Project
focusedonthe causesof HypoplasticLeftHeartSyndrome (HLHS). HLHS isa
Summer2011,
Summer2013,
Summer 2014

2. commonheart defectininfants,whichcausesthe leftventricle tonotform
properlyandisfatal unlesssurgeryisperformedata veryyoungage. It was
theorizedthatblockedcalciumpathwaysleadtothisheartdefectininfants. To
testthishypothesis,zebrafishwere geneticallyengineeredwithdefective calcium
pathwaysandglowinghearsandmuscle tissue (thisallowedof easyvisualization
of the heartundera microscope). Zebrafishembryoheartswere harvestedatthe
time HLHS is knowntostart showingsymptomsinordertobetterexamine how
the heartsdevelopinthe earlystagesof life. Itwasfoundthatlack of calcium
couldcause a wide varietyof defectsinthe heart,includingsymptomsthatwere
verysimilartoHLHS.
KEY COURSES
CHEM 341: Instrumental Analysis
Course coveredthe science andtechniquesbehindmanykindsof chemical analyses
commonlyusedinthe lab. Classprovidedhands-onexperience withProtonNMR,
UV-Visspectroscopy,IRspectroscopy,gaschromatography,HPLCandfamiliarity
withmassspectroscopy.
Spring2016
CHEM 420: PolymerChemistry
Course coveredpolymerandbiopolymersynthesisandreactions,includingawide
range of polymersfromplasticslikePVCandmore complex biopolymerslike DNA.
Classprovidedpolymersynthesispractice,the mostnotableof whichwasthe
creationof nylon6, 6.
Fall 2015
BIO 250: Introduction to Research: CommunityHealth Issues
Course coveredresearchincommunityhealthissuesaswell asresearchwith
humansand the ethical responsibilitiesinvolved. ClassprovidedCITItrainingand
basichealthassessmenttraininginconductingsurveyswithstudyparticipantsand
completingdataentry.
Fall 2015
BIO 431: Genetics
Course coveredgeneticengineeringwithafocusonmicro-organisms. Class
providedhands-onexperience with bacteriatransformation,gel purification,PCR,
PCR clean-up,plasmidextraction,plasmidinsertionandbacterial plating.
Spring2015
OTHER RELEVANTSKILLS
 Airsensitive reactiontechniques
 Centrifugation
 Columnchromatography
 Computer-aideddataacquisition
 EKG
 Distillation
 Friedel-Craftreactions
 High-energymaterial synthesis
 Mediapreparation
 Meltingpoint
 Moleculargraphicsand visualization
 Nanodrop
 Oxygen/carbondioxide sensing
 Polymerization
 Titration
 Vacuum/gravityfiltration
 Reflux apparatus
 Restrictiondigest
 Rotovap
 Sterile technique
 TLC
 UV-visible spectroscopy
 Zebrafishbreeding/cloning
 Histology

3. References
Dr. Mary Hutson,AssistantProfessorof Pediatrics,Duke UniversitySchool of Medicine
Email: mary.hutson@duke.edu
Phonenumber:919-668-2309
Dr. NicholasAndersen,Duke UniversitySchool of Medicine,Departmentof Surgery
E-mail: nicholas.andersen@duke.edu
Dr. Melanie Lee-Brown,Professorof Biology,Guilfordcollege.
E-mail: mleebro@guilford.edu
Phonenumber:336-316-2421
Dr. RobertWhitnell,Professorof Chemistry,Guilfordcollege.
E-mail: rwhitnel@guilford.edu
Phonenumber: 336-316-2295