Education
- Ph.D. in Chemical Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- B.S. in Biology, Alma College, Alma, MI
Biography
Dr. Alaina Lefevre, nee Richard, grew up in Midland, MI. She studied at Alma College, a small liberal arts college in Alma, MI, where she majored in biology, minored in chemistry, and played piano with the Alma College Percussion Ensemble. After earning her B.S., she worked as a lab technologist at Forensic Fluids Laboratories, LLC, in Kalamazoo, MI, a high-throughput toxicology screening lab. In 2018, she began her Ph.D. in Chemical Biology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. There, she was advised by Dr. Emily Scott in her research on the structure and function of human drug- and steroid-metabolizing enzymes. After the completion of her doctorate in 2023, Dr. Lefevre served as a visiting assistant professor of biology at Vassar College before coming to NDMU as assistant professor of biology in 2024. She lives in Columbia, MD, with her husband and two cats.
Research Interests
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Biochemistry: Studying the structure and function of dye-degrading enzymes of the human gut microbiome. Using UV-Visible spectroscopy, enzyme kinetics, bioinformatics, and computational molecular modeling to investigate the role of microbial biotransformation in the metabolism of synthetic food and textile pigments.
Publications
Richard, A.M.*, Estrada, D.F.*, Flynn, L., Pochapsky, S.S., Scott, E.E., Pochapsky, T.C. (2024) Tracking protein-protein interactions by NMR: conformational selection in human steroidogenic cytochrome P450 17A1 induced by cytochrome b5. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 26:16980-8.
Richard, A.M.*, Wong, N.R.*, Harris, K.L., Sundar, R., Scott, E.E., Pochapsky, T.C. (2023) An approach to selective steroidogenic cytochrome P450 haem iron ligation by steroid-derived isonitriles. Communications Chemistry. 6:183.
Burris-Hiday, S.D.*, Loomis, C.L.*, Richard, A.M.*, Scott, E.E. (2023) Generation of Steroidogenic Cytochrome P450 Enzymes for Structural and Functional Characterization. Methods in Enzymology. 689:3-38.
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)
Awards
2025 Committee for Faculty Research and Development Funding—Notre Dame of Maryland University
2023—2024 Consortium for Faculty Diversity Fellow—Vassar College
2023 Graduate Teacher Certificate—UM Center for Research on Learning & Teaching
2022 Pre-Doctoral Travel Award—UM Rackham Graduate School
2021 Outstanding Oral Presentation Award—American Chemical Society
2019—2021 Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program—NIH
2013 PRISM Summer Research Fellowship—Alma College
2012—2016 Presidential Merit Scholarship—Alma College
2012—2016 Performing Arts Scholarship—Alma College