Rate My Professor Margaret Braasch-Turi

Dr. Margaret Braasch-Turi serves as Assistant Professor of Organic Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at Fort Hays State University. She earned her PhD in Organic Chemistry from Colorado State University in 2023. During her graduate studies in the laboratory of Professor Debbie C. Crans, her research focused on the synthesis of naphthoquinone derivatives, including menaquinones, lipoquinones, and other Vitamin K analogues essential for bacterial respiration and potential biomedical applications. In 2020, she co-authored the comprehensive review "Synthesis of Naphthoquinone Derivatives: Menaquinones, Lipoquinones and Other Vitamin K Derivatives," published in Molecules, detailing various synthetic routes and their biological relevance.

At Fort Hays State University, Dr. Braasch-Turi leads a research group dedicated to synthetic organic chemistry, particularly the development of hydrophobic vanadium complexes with anti-cancer potential. Her team synthesizes compounds such as VO(HSHED)(dtb), where HSHED denotes N-(salicylideneaminato)-N'-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,2-ethanediamine and dtb is 3,5-di(tert-butyl)catechol. These efforts facilitate collaborations with researchers at Colorado State University for chemical analysis and the University of Sydney for biological assays against cancer cell proliferation. Planned investigations include integrating chiral terpenes, flavonoid derivatives, and catechol-cycloalkane fused ring systems to optimize ligand properties. Dr. Braasch-Turi teaches courses such as Organic Chemistry (CHEM 304, 340, 342) and General Chemistry II (CHEM 114), mentoring students through research projects presented at events like the 2024 Scholarly Activities Conference. She contributes to university service on Provost Standing Committees and as K-INBRE faculty, promoting biomedical research excellence. Her emphasis on laboratory safety draws from graduate training involving role-playing simulations of lab accidents to improve emergency responses.