Rate My Professor John Conrad

John A. Conrad, Ph.D., serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He holds a Ph.D. and focuses his teaching on general chemistry and biochemistry courses, contributing to the education of undergraduate students in foundational and advanced chemical principles. Conrad is actively involved in mentoring undergraduate researchers, particularly those with experience in general and organic chemistry, guiding them in laboratory-based projects. His service roles include membership on the University Pre-Med Committee, participation in the Honors Program as a faculty member, and involvement in the Teacher-Researcher Partnership Program, where he has explored pedagogical innovations such as inquiry-based labs in enzyme kinetics and the effectiveness of curricular changes on student learning and attitudes in general chemistry recitation sections.

Conrad's research centers on using absorbance spectroscopy to investigate the mechanistic details of flavoproteins involved in the biodegradation of aromatic compounds. His publications elucidate enzyme mechanisms through kinetic and structural analyses. Key works include 'Detection of intermediates in the oxidative half-reaction of the FAD-dependent thymidylate synthase from Thermotoga maritima: carbon transfer without covalent pyrimidine activation' (Biochemistry, 2014), co-authored with Hoppe, Ortiz-Maldonado, and Palfey; 'Shewanella oneidensis cytochrome c nitrate reductase (ccNir) does not disproportionate hydroxylamine to ammonia and nitrate, despite a strongly favorable driving force' (Biochemistry, 2014), with Youngblut and others; 'Intermediate partitioning kinetic isotope effects for the NIH shift of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase and the hydroxylation reaction of hydroxymandelate synthase reveal mechanistic complexity' (Biochemistry, 2013), with Shah and Moran; 'Trapping of an intermediate in the reaction catalyzed by flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase' (J.A.C.S., 2012), with Michanina and others; and 'Evidence for the mechanism of hydroxylation by 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase and hydroxymandelate synthase from intermediate partitioning in active site variants' (Biochemistry, 2011), with Shah and Moran. Conrad has received the Outstanding Honors Faculty Award in 2022 alongside Matthew Marx and the UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award in 2018. He was also a grant recipient for Open Educational Resources initiatives in chemistry.