David Punihaole, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Contact
email: David.Punihaole@uvm.edu
Education
Postdoctoral Associate, University of Minnesota, MN (2016 — 2020)
PhD, Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA (2016)
BS, Molecular Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA (2009)
Biography
David Punihaole, PhD is an Assistant of Chemistry at the University of Vermont and holds a graduate faculty appointment in the Materials Science program. He is also a Research Project Leader at the Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health (VCCBH), an NIH-funded Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). His research lies at the intersection of analytical and physical chemistry, as well as biophysics, materials science, and neuroscience. His research group is focused on developing chemical imaging tools that utilize Raman spectroscopy to directly visualize the molecular-level structural dynamics and non-covalent interactions of molecules in living cells. David’s group is interested in using this novel imaging technology to investigate protein folding regulatory mechanisms, understand the structural basis of amyloid fibril toxicity in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease, and to establish structure-activity relationships of polymer- and lipid-based nanoparticle delivery vehicles used to transport drugs and therapeutic nucleic acids in gene/cancer therapies.