Sarah Kirk
Associate Professor of Chemistry; Department Chair
Organic and Medicinal Chemistry
Olin Science Center 313
503-370-6902
skirk@willamette.edu

Sarah Kirk

Education

B.A., Whitman College
Ph.D., University of California, San Diego

Courses

Professional Interests

Design and synthesis of amino acid conjugates of aminoglycoside antibiotics; investigation of binding between nucleic acid and novel molecules; defining of essential elements within molecules that dictate nucleic acid specificity.

Personal Interests

Singing, hiking, camping, skiing and soccer

Publications

Kirk S.R., Andrade, A.L, Melich K, Jackson E, Cuellar E, Karpen J. "Halogen substitutions on the aromatic moiety of the tetracaine scaffold improve potency of cycluc nucleotide-gated channel block" Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. (2011), 21, 6417-6419
Andrade A.L, Melich K, Whatley G.G, Kirk S.R., Karpen J.W. "Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channel Block by Hydrolysis-Resistant Tetracaine Derivatives." J. Med. Chem. (2011), 54, 4904-4912
T. Strassmaier, S.R. Kirk, T. Banerji, and J.W. Karpen, “Block of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels by tetracaine derivatives: role of apolar interactions at two distinct locations” Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 18, 645-649 (2008).
Kirk, S.R.; Silverstein, T.P.; Holman, K. L. M, “Metal Catalyzed Cleavage of tRNA^Phe” J. Chem. Educ., 85, 676-677. (2008).
Kirk, S.R.; Silverstein, T.P.; Holman, K. L. M, “UV Thermal Melting Curves of tRNA^Phe in the Presence of Ligands” J. Chem. Educ., 85, 674-675 (2008).
Kirk, S.R.; Silverstein, T.P.; Holman, K. L. M., “Fluorescence Spectroscopy of tRNA^Phe Y Base in the Presence of Mg²⁺ and Small Molecule Ligands” J. Chem. Educ. 85, 678-679. (2008).
Kirk, S.R.; Silverstein, T.P.; McFarlane Holman, K.L.; Taylor, B.H., “Probing Changes in the Conformation of tRNA^Phe: An Integrated Biochemistry Laboratory Course” J. Chem. Ed., 85, 666-673 (2008).
S.R. Kirk, T.P. Silverstein, and J.J. Willemsen, "Teaching Biologically Relevant Chemistry Throughout the Four-Year Chemistry Curriculum" J. Chem. Ed. 83, 1171-1175 (2006).
S.R. Kirk, N.W. Luedtke, and Y. Tor, "2-Aminopurine as a Real-Time Probe of Enzymatic Cleavage and Inhibition of Hammerhead Ribozymes" Bioorg. Med. Chem. 9, 2295-2301 (2001).
S.R. Kirk, N.W. Luedtke, and Y. Tor, "Neomycin? Acridine Conjugate: A Potent Inhibitor of Rev-RRE Binding" J.Am. Chem. Soc. 122, 980-981, (2000).
S.R. Kirk and Y. Tor, "tRNAPhe Binds Aminoglycoside Antibiotics" Bioorg. Med. Chem. 7, 1979-1991, (1999).
S.R. Kirk and Y. Tor, "Hydrolysis of an RNA Dinucleoside Monophosphate by Neomycin B" Chem Commun. 147-149, (1998).