Valérie C. Pierre

Valérie C. Pierre
Professor, Department of ChemistryContact
Smith Hall Room 237 207 Pleasant Street SeMinneapolis, MN 55455
Education
B.S. Engineer’s Diploma, Ecole Superieure de Chimie, Lyon, 2001
Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, 2005 (Kenneth N. Raymond)
Post Doctorate California Institute of Technology, 2005-2007 (Jacqueline K. Barton)
Inorganic & Organometallic Chemistry: bio-inorganic chemistry, MRI contrast agents
Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry: sensor design, cellular and molecular imaging, MRI contrast agents
Chemical Biology: protein crystallography
Our group employs coordination and supramolecular chemistry to solve medical and environmental problems. We exploit siderophores, natural products synthesized by bacteria to chelate iron, as new diagnostic and theranostic tools for bacterial infections. We design and synthesize analogues of these natural products that can rapidly detect, quantify and identify bacteria in complex media. We also design new antimicrobial agents that function via novel mechanisms. As part of our environmental efforts, we are designing new complexes, supramolecular receptors and polymeric membranes that can catch pollutants from lakes and rivers. Our current goal is to design new tools that can economically remove phosphates and nitrates from surface water contaminated with agricultural run-offs.


Honors and Awards
Edward I. Stiefel award in Bioinorganic Chemistry, 2012
National Science Foundation CAREER, 2012
Earle C. Anthony Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley, 2002-2003
Rhône-Alpes Fellowship, France, 2000-2001
Leonardo Fellowship, European Union, 1999-2000
Books
Professor Pierre is co-editor of a new practical reference guide for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Contrast Agents for MRI: Experimental Methods. Her co-editor was Professor Matthew J. Allen from Wayne State University. The e-book is available at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/ebook/978-1-78262-447-9, and a hard copy is available on Amazon. The book was published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Mailing Address
Valérie C. Pierre
University of Minnesota
Department of Chemistry
B-13, 139 Smith Hall, 207 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0431