Ruth E. Stark

RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• City University of New York, Institute for Macromolecular Assemblies, Director, 9/03-present

• City University of New York (CUNY), Distinguished Professor of Chemistry (9/06- ); The City College (9/07- ); College of Staten Island, Professor of Chemistry and member of the CUNY Doctoral Faculties in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, and Physics, 1/93-present; Associate Professor, 9/85-12/92. Molecular biophysics of fatty acid transport; structure and development of protective plant polymers; structure of fungal melanins; nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.   
•     Amherst College, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, 7/79-6/85. Nuclear magnetic resonance and enzymatic studies of bile salt-lecithin aggregates and detergent micelles.

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Chemistry, Visiting Scientist, 9/82-8/83. NMR and enzymatic studies of fat digestion, with M.F. Roberts.

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Magnet Laboratory, Postdoctoral Research Associate, 8/77-7/79. High-resolution NMR of solids, directed by R.G. Griffin.

• University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Research and Teaching Assistant, 9/72-7/77. Nuclear magnetic relaxation and molecular reorientation in liquids, directed by R.L. and R.R. Vold.

  Memberships: American Chemical Society, American Women in Science, Biophysical Society, American Men and Women of Science

   

   

HONORS

• NIH: Research Career Development Award, Postdoctoral Fellowship

• CUNY: Faculty Performance Excellence Awards, LSAMP Minority Student Mentoring Award

• College of Staten Island: Dolphin Award for Scholarly Achievement, Faculty Released-Time Award, Full-Pay Fellowship Award, Faculty Merit Award

• Amherst College: Trustee-Faculty Fellowship

• American Cancer Society: Postdoctoral Fellowship (awarded but declined)

• UCSD: IBM Predoctoral Fellowship, graduate student teaching award
• Borough of Staten Island: Woman in History Award
 
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
 

S. Sang,  J. D. Lambert, S. Tian, J. Hong, Z. Hou, J.-H. Ryu, R. E. Stark, R. T. Rosen, M.-T. Huang, C. S. Yang, and C.-T. Ho, “Enzymatic synthesis of theaflavin derivatives and their anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities,” Bioorg. Med. Chem. 12, 459-467 (2004).

S. Sang, S. Tian, R. E. Stark, C. S. Yang, and C.-T. Ho, “New Dibenzotropolone Derivatives Characterized From Black Tea Using LC/MS/MS,” Bioorg. Med. Chem., 12, 3009-17 (2004).

Sang,  S.M, Lambert, J.D., Hong, J.L., Tian, S.Y, Lee, M.J., Stark, R. E., Ho, C.-T. and Yang, C.S., Synthesis and structure identification of thiol conjugates of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate and their urinary levels in mice. Chem. Res. Toxicology 18, 1762-1769 (2005).

 J.D. Batteas and  R. E. Stark, “Surface and Interfacial Studies of Plant Biopolymers,” invited chapter for Molecular Interfacial Phenomena of Polymers and Biopolymers, (P. Chen, Ed.), Abington Hall, Woodhead Publishing Co., Cambridge, UK, 2005, pp. 580-608.

R. E. Stark and S. Tian, “The Cutin Biopolymer Matrix,” invited chapter for Biology of the Plant Cuticle, (M. Riederer and C. Müller, Eds.), Blackwell Publishing Co., UK, 2006, pp. 126-144.

B. Yu, G. Vengadesan, H. Wang, L. Jashi, T. Yefremov, S. Tian, V. Gaba, I. Shomer and R. E. Stark, "Magic-Angle Spinning NMR Studies of Cell Wall-Bound Aromatic-Aliphatic Biopolyesters Associated with Strengthening of Intercellular Adhesion in Potato (Solanum Tuberosum L.) Tuber Parenchyma," Biomacromolecules,  7, 937-944 (2006).

D. Arrieta-Baez and R .E. Stark, “Modeling Suberization with Peroxidase-catalyzed Polymerization of Hydroxycinnamic Acids: Cross-Coupling and Dimerization Reactions,” Phytochemistry, 67, 743-753 (2006).

D. Arrieta-Baez and R.E. Stark, “Using Trifluoroacetic Acid to Augment Studies of Potato Suberin Molecular Structure,” J. Agric. Food Chem., 54, 9636–9641 (2006).

 Y. He*, X. Yang*, H. Wang, R. Estephan, F. Francis, S. Kodukula, J. Storch, and R. E. Stark, “Solution-State Molecular Structure of Apo and Oleate-Liganded Liver Fatty Acid-Binding Protein,” Biochemistry, 46, 12543-12556 (2007).

J. Zhong, S. Frases, H. Wang, A. Casadevall and R. E. Stark, “Following Fungal Melanin Biosynthesis with Solid-State NMR: biopolymer molecular structures and possible connections to cell-wall polysaccharides,” Biochemistry, 47, 4701-4710 (2008).

 

LAB PERSONNEL:


Research Associate: Dr. Hongwei Wu


Postdoctoral Scientists: Dr. Bingwu Yu, Dr. Rufeng Wang


Ph.D. Students: Mr. Subhasish Chatterjee, Ms. Nancy Medina, Mr. XuDong Guan, Ms. Sayantani Sarkar, Ms. Samar Rizk


M.S. student: Mr. Karifala Kante


Postbacchalaureate Student: Ms. Ruth Ding


High School Student: Ms. Julia Oktawiec

Executive Assistant: Ms. Lorraine Brocato