Chem alumna studies ocean enzymes

NIH POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP FUNDED FOR NEXT 3 YEARS

Through a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Anna Love ’16 studies a particular enzyme on the ocean floor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. Her research involves studying the biological effects of cannabinoids in a unique way.

“We really don’t have a full understanding of the scope of biological effects that these cannabinoids have in people. So there’s a real importance in studying what this biological activity is so we can make sure that people are being safe in how they use it,” she said.

To study these different chemicals, Love uses enzymes found in bacteria from the bottom of the sea that enact the same chemistry as enzymes found in the cannabis plant. Finding and using these enzymes boosted the ease and efficiency of the project.

Love sees her project as operating in the intersection between biology and chemistry, a passion that developed while she was at Messiah.

“I came in as a biopsychology major, because I thought I was going be a neurologist. My experience with science was medicine. I switched to biology first because, while the psychology classes were interesting, I really resonated with the laboratory data you collect in biology. And then when I took organic chemistry in my sophomore year, that’s when I realized that all biology could be explained by chemistry,” she explained.

Love says Messiah’s chemistry department supported her as a student in a way that was both important for her personal development and difficult to find anywhere else.

I think I would have fallen through the cracks at a state school.

“When I first showed up to general chemistry lab, I had no clue what anything was. I didn’t know what an Erlenmeyer flask was. I didn’t know what a Buchner funnel was. I didn’t know what anything was,” Love said. “The environment at Messiah was really integral to my success because I think I would have fallen through the cracks at a state school. The attention that I got from the professors and the small class size made it feel like the content was accessible, even to someone like me, where I felt really behind a lot of my peers, especially in the first year.”

The NIH is funding the project, which she started in 2023.

“It’s nice to have your own funding because then you don’t have to rely on having grants to be able to do your work. You have independent funding through a federal agency,” Love said. “The fellowship fully funds me for three years, so it gives a kind of security.”

–Samantha Neal ’24