Dr. Theresa M. Reineke


Dr. Theresa M. Reineke
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Phone: 540.231.7011
Fax: 540.231.3255
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Education:

NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology, 2000-2002
Ph.D. The University of Michigan, 2000
M.S. Arizona State University, 1998
B.S. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 1995

Biography:

Theresa M. Reineke is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Virginia Tech. She is a materials chemist with research interests in the design and development of macromolecules for biomedical applications. After receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1995, she completed her graduate studies at Arizona State University (M.S. degree) and The University of Michigan (Ph.D. degree) with Dr. Omar Yaghi studying the synthesis and characterization of metal-organic framework materials. After completing her Ph.D. in 2000, she was awarded a National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award to study the synthesis and biological characterization of carbohydrate-containing polymers for gene therapy in the laboratory of Dr. Mark E. Davis at the California Institute of Technology. In 2002 she joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati as an Assistant Professor. In 2008, she relocated her research program and group to Virginia Tech as an Associate Professor of Chemistry and member of the Macromolecular Interfaces Institute. Currently, her research group and program are devoted to studying carbohydrate-containing polymers and beta-cyclodextrin “click clusters” that bind, compact, and deliver therapeutic DNA in vitro and in vivo. Her group is also developing new macromolecules for targeted drug delivery and diagnostic imaging, and novel theranostic agents for combined therapeutic delivery and diagnostic imaging. In addition to running a large research program, Dr. Reineke serves on the International Advisory Board of Macromolecular Bioscience (Wiley InterScience), the Molecular Conjugates Committee of the American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, the Scientific Advisory Board for Techulon, Inc., and as an American Chemical Society POLY Division Councilor

Awards and Honors:

2009 NIH Director's New Innovator Award
2008 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
2007-2009 Kavli Fellow (National Academy Frontiers of Science Program)
2007 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow
2007 "30 in their 30s" in OH Bioscience Award
2006 Lowenstein Scholar (University of Cincinnati)
2005 Beckman Young Investigator Award
2005 Sigma Xi Outstanding Young Investigator Award
2005 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
2003 American Chemical Society (PMSE Division), Arthur K. Doolittle Award
2002 National Institutes of Health, National Research Service Award
2000 Outstanding Graduate Research Award from the Wirt and Mary Cornell Prize
1998-2000 ARCS, Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation Fellowship
1999 Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award
1998-1999 Pew Charitable Trusts - Preparing Future Faculty Fellow
1997 Excellence as a Teaching Assistant Award

Research Areas:

  • Monomer and polymer synthesis
  • Carbohydrate chemistry
  • Dendrimer synthesis
  • DNA and RNA-binding materials
  • Transfection reagents
  • Nucleic acid therapeutics
  • Drug delivery
  • Cell culture
  • Lanthanide-organic chemistry
  • Chemical and biological sensing
  • MRI contrast agent design
  • Theranostic agent design and delivery