Daniel May
Education:
Bachelor of Science: Major: Biology, Minor: Chemistry (2013) Alma College, MI
Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacognosy (2018) University of Illinois at Chicago, IL
Teaching:
I’ve always loved learning about the interconnectedness of nature. As an undergraduate student, I attended a small liberal arts college similar to Washington College so that I could obtain an interdisciplinary education. While taking my intro chemistry courses, I struggled to connect the abstract concepts I was learning to the natural world around me. It wasn’t until I took a Chemistry of Medicinal Plants course that I began to fully appreciate the importance of basic chemistry concepts and how they applied to the topics I was most interested in. I love teaching because I can help undergraduate students make similar connections and discover a passion for chemistry in the topics they find most interesting. I believe that teaching students to critically read and understand scientific literature is essential so they can explore what piques their curiosity. Teaching at Washington College also allows me to communicate one-on-one with my students and provide the type of interdisciplinary and personalized education I received during my undergraduate studies.
Research:
Natural products research is highly interdisciplinary and encompasses organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, chemical ecology, microbiology, botany, marine biology, bioinformatics, biochemistry, and more! Natural product researchers strive to identify, characterize, and untangle the biological activities of the vast diversity of compounds produced by life. As a natural product chemist, I study the natural products (small molecules) produced by bacteria associated with honeybee hives and native bee nests. Student researchers in the May Lab use chemical and biological techniques such as NMR, mass spectrometry, chromatography, bacterial culture, DNA extraction, PCR, and bioinformatics to discover and study natural products that could be used to treat brood diseases in honeybees. This research will help to improve the health of essential pollinators and to conserve our native bee species. I love talking with students about my research and am always looking for new students to join my lab for either semester or summer research. If you are interested in learning more about natural products research or joining the lab, please email me to schedule a meeting!
The May Lab is located in Toll Science Center in room S218. We have shakers, thermocyclers, a centrifuge, fume hoods, a vacuum manifold, and will be obtaining an HPLC for natural product isolation. Across the hall, we have access to an NMR spectrometer, a mass spectrometer, and rotary evaporators.
Publications:
Gotting, K., May, D. S., Sosa-Calvo, J., Khadempour, L., Francoeur, C. B., Berasategui, A., Thairu, M. W., Sandstrom, S., Carlson, C. M., Chevrette, M. G., Pupo, M. T., Bugni, T. S., Schultz, T. R., Johnston, J. S., Gerardo, N. M., & Currie, C. R. Genomic Diversification of the Specialized Parasite of the Fungus-Growing Ant Symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022 doi: 10.1073/pnas.2213096119
May, D.S.*; Francoeur, C.B*; Thairu, M.W.; Hoang, D.Q.; Panthofer, O.; Bugni, T.S.; Pupo, M.T.; Clardy, J.; Pinto-Tomás, A.A.; Currie, C.R. Burkholderia from Fungus Gardens of Fungus-Growing Ants Produce Antifungals that Inhibit the Specialized Parasite Escovopsis, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2021, 87 (14) doi: 10.1128/AEM.00178-21. (Cover Issue).
May, D.S.*; Grubbs, K.J.*; Sardina, J.A.; Dermenjian, R.K.; Wyche, T.P.; Pinto-Tomás, A.A.; Clardy, J.; Currie, C.R. Pollen Streptomyces Produce Antibiotic That Inhibits the Honey Bee Pathogen Paenibacillus larvae, Front. Microbiol. 2021 doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021632637.
May, D. S.; Crnkovic, C. M.; Krunic, A.; Wilson, T. A.; Fuchs, J. R.; Orjala, J. 15N Stable Isotope Labeling and Comparative Metabolomics Facilitates Genome Mining in Cultured Cyanobacteria, ACS Chem. Biol. 2020, 15 (3), 758-765.
Stubbendieck, R.M.; May, D.S.; Chevrette, M.G.; Temkin, M.I.; Wendt-Pienkowski, E.; Cagnazzo, J.; Carlson, C.M.; Gern, J.E.; Currie, C.R.; Competition Among Nasal Bacteria Suggests a Role for Siderophore-Mediated Interactions in Shaping the Human Nasal Microbiota. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2019, 85 (10), e02406-18.
May, D. S.*; Kang, H.S.*; Santarsiero, B.D.; Krunic, A.; Shen, Q.; Burdette, J.E.; Swanson, S.M.; Orjala, J., Ribocyclophanes A-E, Glycosylated Cyclophanes with Antiproliferative Activity from Two Cultured Terrestrial Cyanobacteria, J. Nat. Prod. 2018, 81 (3), 572-578.
Crnkovic, C.M.; Krunic, A.; May, D.S.; Wilson, T.A.; Kao, D.; Burdette, J.E.; Fuchs, J.R.; Oberlies, N.H.; Orjala, J., Calothrixamides A and B from the Cultured Cyanobacterium Calothrix sp. UIC 10520, J. Nat. Prod. 2018, 81 (9), 2083-2090.
Anderson, L.R.; May, D.S.; Berkompas, C.J.; Doyle, B.J., Toxicity of Mid-Michigan Plant Extracts in the Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay and the Effects of Assay Methodology on Sensitivity, BIOS. 2018, 89, (2).
May, D. S.; Chen, W.; Lantvit, D. D.; Zhang, X.; Krunic, A.; Burdette, J. E.; Eustaquio, A.; Orjala, J. Merocyclophanes C and D from the Cultured Freshwater Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. (UIC 10110), J. Nat. Prod. 2017, 80 (4), 1073-1080.
Crnkovic, C.M.; May, D.S.; & Orjala, J., The Impact of Culture Conditions on Growth and Metabolic Profiles of Freshwater Cyanobacteria, J. Appl. Phycol. 2017, 30 (1), 375-384.
* Co-First Authors
Invited Presentations:
A Sticky Situation: Fighting American Foulbrood with Natural Products from the Beehive, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Chemistry Department Seminar, October 28, 2022
Chemical Weapons in Escovopsis, The Fungal Parasite of Fungus-Growing Ants, American Society of Pharmacognosy Younger Members Symposium, August 11-13, 2020
Matching Biosynthetic Gene Clusters to Their Natural Products in Cyanobacteria, Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, August 12-16, 2018
Secondary Metabolites from Freshwater Cyanobacteria: Structure Elucidation, Biosynthesis, and Bioactivity of Merocyclophanes C and D, MIKI Medicinal Chemistry Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 7-9, 2017
A Bioinformatic and Metabolomic Strategy to Discover Natural Products from Cyanobacteria, Alma College Life Sciences Seminar Series, Alma, Michigan, November 30, 2017