Dr. Mike Bosscher

Environmental chemistry matters to everyone, chemist or not, according to Dr. Mike Bosscher. “It allows for us to characterize our world and make adjustments toward a more flourishing creation.” This can include things like monitoring the levels of antibiotics in urban waterways or monitoring nutrient levels in soils.

He believes that chemistry teaches an understanding of some of the most basic observable interactions in creation and develops the skills to encounter problems and data with confidence and poise. “These are essential to engage with the natural world around us, and allow us to participate in the co-creative work laid out for us. These are also essential for engaging in meaningful dialogue about the nature of creation in our broader contexts.”

What drew him to Trinity:

Bosscher came to Trinity because of its mission and diversity. “Trinity is in a unique place where we can talk about our participation in Christ’s redemptive work to a very broad audience. I love that I can teach students who are getting a firm foundation in many disciplines, and that courses are small enough to see student’s individual experiences and skills enrich the collective experience of the whole class.”

Research interests:

His research areas include aquaponics and developing lanthanide binding proteins

Lanthanides are present in low concentrations in many places, but are only able to be mined in a few locations. However, these elements are widely used in everyday technology. “We hope the proteins we are developing will allow us to take advantage of low concentration sources of lanthanides like the ocean by binding lanthanides over all other elements. We hope a second vein of this same project will allow us to use our proteins to detect lanthanides in low concentrations with simple and widely available equipment.”

When he’s not teaching:

Bosscher spends time with his son Levi, planting fruit trees, and planning for a better tomorrow.

More information about Bosscher’s work can be found here.

Zhou, L.; Bosscher, M.; Zhang, C.; Ozcubukcu, S.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, W.; Li, C. J.; Liu, J.; Jensen, M. P.; Lai, L.; He, C. “A protein engineered to bind uranyl selectively and with femtomolar affinity” Nat. Chem. (2014), 6, 236-241.

Song, W. H.; Liu, M. M.; Zhong, D. W.; Zhu, Y. L.; Bosscher, M.; Zhou, L.; Ye, D. Y.; Yuan, Z. H.; “Tetrazole and triazole as bioisosteres of carboxylic acid: discovery of diketo tetrazoles as anti-HCV agents” Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. (2013), 23(16), 4528-4531.

Liang, H.; Deng, X.; Bosscher, M.; Ji, Q.; Jensen, M. P.; He, C. “Engineering Bacterial Two-Component System PmrA/PmrB to Sense Lanthanide Ions” J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2013), 135(6), 2037–2039.

Tasker, Sarah Z.; Bosscher, Michael A.; Shandro, Christina A.; Lanni, Erica L.; Ryu, Keun Ah; Snapper, Gregory S.; Utter, Jarrad M.; Ellsworth, Bruce A.; Anderson, Carolyn E. “Preparation of N-Alkyl 2-Pyridones via a Lithium Iodide Promoted O- to N-Alkyl Migration: Scope and Mechanism” J. Org. Chem. (2012), 77(18), 8220-8230.

He, C.; Zhou, L.; Bosscher, M. 2013, “Protein Scaffolds for Selective Enrichment of Metal Ions”. U.S. Patent 20110093964 A1, International Patent WO 2013154731 A1Lanni, Erica L.; Bosscher, Michael A.; Ooms, Bartel D.; Shandro, Christina A.; Ellsworth, Bruce A.; Anderson, Carolyn E. “Synthesis of Substituted N-Benzyl Pyridones via an O- to N-Alkyl Migration” J. Org. Chem. (2008), 73(16), 6425-6428.

American Chemical Society