
Christina Cooley, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor , Chemistry
Christina Cooley grew up in Conway, AR, where she studied Chemistry and Music at Hendrix College. Formative undergraduate research experiences in organic chemistry and neurobiology propelled her to a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Stanford University, working in the laboratory of Professor Paul Wender to develop new oligomeric scaffolds for drug delivery applications. She then completed postdoctoral training in Chemical Biology at Scripps Research in San Diego with Professors Jeff Kelly and Luke Wiseman, focusing on therapeutic approaches for protein misfolding diseases. Christina joined the Trinity Chemistry faculty in 2015, where she leads an interdisciplinary undergraduate research program that applies the power of synthetic organic chemistry to impact related fields including polymer chemistry, medicinal chemistry and biology. Current major project areas include the development of fluorogenic radical polymerization reactions as platforms for biodetection, and prodrug strategies for disease-targeted therapeutic delivery. Beyond research, she is passionate about educating and mentoring the next generation of scientists, as well as serving the Trinity and broader scientific communities.
*denotes equal authorship
Underline denotes Trinity University students or alumni
The Cooley Lab has been supported by grants from federal agencies and private foundations including the National Science Foundation (CAREER and MRI programs), the Welch Foundation, the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, and the San Antonio Area Foundation.