Chinny Tiu (she/her)

Biography

Chinny attended the College of the Holy Cross (‘25), where she earned a BA in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry. At Holy Cross, she was a member of Dr. Christine Hagan’s lab, where she studied and wrote her honors thesis on elucidating the key processes involved in contact-dependent inhibition, an interbacterial competition mechanism. She also participated in the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology’s summer research program where she was placed in Dr. Christy Haynes’ lab at the UMN. Over the summer, she studied pH-driven interactions in nanoparticle-facilitated transport of PFAS in Lemna minor (common duckweed) for enhanced phytoremediation (see video below for a short animated overview of the project!). Ultimately, she hopes to produce translational research to positively impact human health, particularly through targeted protein degradation strategies, and is committed to participating in science communication initiatives to increase accessibility in STEM. She also hopes to pursue a research-based career in the biotechnology industry with a focus on pharmaceutical development and green chemistry. Outside of the lab, some of her hobbies include running, reading, baking, going to concerts and exploring the Twin Cities (parks, coffee shops, restaurants)! 

Video Caption: This short animation was created for the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology’s summer research program’s SciArt initiative, where we were challenged to come up with a creative way to convey our summer research! (Sound on!) 

Publications

Development of a Lysine-Reactive Targeted Covalent Inhibitor for the P300/CBP-Associated Factor Bromodomain Through Structure-Based Design

Ede, R.R.; Peterson, K.E.; Begyinah, R.; Tom, I.P.; Ochoada, J.; Sneddon, M.; Tiu, A.K.; Fischer, M.; Shelat, A.A.; Pomerantz, W.C.K. Chem. Med. Chem. 2026, 21, e70301. 

DOI

Establishing 19F NMR for understanding sorbent interactions with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): ranking affinity and dissecting interactions of nanoscale carbon dots and β-cyclodextrin with PFAS

Lewis, R.L.; Huang, C.H.; Tiu, A.K.; Haynes, C.L. Anal. Chem. 2026, 98 (1), 332-342.

DOI

Autoproteolytic mechanism of CdiA toxin release reconstituted in vitro

Tiu, A.K.; Conroy, G.C.; Bobst, C.E.; Hagan, C.L. J. Bacteriol. 2024, 206 (10),1-10.

DOI