Felix Ngassa

Felix Ngassa
Telephone: (616) 331-3803
Office: 350 Padnos Hall
Web: N/A
Dept. Web: N/A
E-Mail: ngassaf@gvsu.edu

Education

  • M.B.A., Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University
  • Ph.D., Organic & Physical Chemistry, University of North Dakota
  • B.S., Chemistry, University of Yaounde I

Teaching Interests

  • Organic Chemistry
  • Advanced Organic Chemistry
  • Spectroscopic Identification of Organic Compounds
  • General Chemistry
  • General, Organic and Biological Chemistry

Research Interests

  • New Avenues to Nucleoside Modification by Transition-Metal Catalysis
  • Synthesis of Carcinogen-Nucleoside Adducts
  • Synthetic and Computational Studies on Heterogeneous Oligomers
  • Modeling the Interaction of Natural Oncogenes with Synthetic Peptides.

Representative Publications

  • Ngassa, F. N.; Gomez, J. M.; Haines, B. E.; Ostach, M. J.; Hector, J. W.; Hoogenboom, L. J.; Page, C. E. “Facile Cu-free Sonogashira Cross-Coupling of Nucleoside C-6 Arylsulfonates with Terminal Alkynes” Tetrahedron 2010, 66, 7919-7926.
  • Ngassa, F. N.; Lindsey, E. A.; Haines, B. E. The First Cu- and Amine- Free Sonogashira-Type Cross-Coupling in the C-6-Alkynylation of Protected 2- Deoxyadenosine Tetrahedron 2009, 65, 4085-4091.
  • Nkabyo, E. M.; Lindsey, E. A.; Haines, B. E.; Thomasson, K. A.; Ngassa, F. N. "Understanding the Interactions of ²-Peptides with each other and with the Human Leucine Zipper: A Computational Modeling Study" J. Undergrad. Chem. Res., 2008, 7, 98-107.
  • Lakshman, M. K.; Keeler, J. C.; Ngassa, F. N.; Hilmer, J. H.; Pradhan, P.; Zajc, B.; Thomasson, K. A. "Highly Diastereoselective Synthesis of Nucleoside Adducts from the Carcinogenic Benzo[a]pyrene Diol Epoxide and a Computational Analysis" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 68-76.
  • Ngassa F. N.; DeKorver, K. A.; Melistas, T. S.; Yeh, E. A.-H.; Lakshman, M. K. "Pd-Xantphos-Catalyzed Direct Arylation of Nucleosides" Org. Lett. 2006, 8, 4613-4616.
  • Hayen, A.; Schmitt, M. A.; Ngassa, F. N.; Thomasson, K. A.; Gellman, S. H. "Two Helical Conformations from a Single Foldamer Backbone: Split Personality in Short ±/²-Peptides" Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 505-510.
  • Gellman, S. H.; Hayen, A.; Schmitt, M. A.; Ngassa, F. N. "Heterogeneous Foldamers Containing ±, ² and/or ³-Amino Acids" PCT Int. Appl. (2004), 149 pp. CODEN: PIXXD2 WO 2004018644 A2 20040304 CAN 140:183000 CAPLUS.
  • Huber, A.; Nkabyo, E.; Warnok, R.; Skalsky, A.; Kuzel, M.; Gelling, V. J.; Dillman, T. B.; Ward, M.; Guo, R.; Adams, G. K.; Vollmer, S.; Ngassa, F. N.; Lowe, S. L.; Ouporov, I. V.; Thomasson, K.; "A Conformational Search and Calculation of the Circular Dichroic Spectrum of the Flexible Peptide Cyclo(Gly-Pro-Gly)2 Using the Dipole Interaction Model" J. Undergrad. Chem. Res., 2003, 4, 145-161.
  • Lakshman, M. K.; Ngassa, F. N.; Bae, S.; Buchanan, D. G.; Hahn, H-G.; Mah, H. Synthesis of Pyrene and the Benzo[a]pyrene Adducts at the Exocyclic Amino Groups of 2-Deoxyadenosine and 2-Deoxyguanosine by a Palladium-Mediated C-N Bond-Formation Strategy J. Org. Chem. 2003, 68, 6020-6030.

Academic/Professional Activities

  • American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • ACS Division of Organic Chemistry
  • ACS Division of Physical Chemistry
  • ACS Division of Chemical Education
  • Biophysical Society
  • Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society
  • American Association for the Advancement of Sciences
  • Pi Lambda Theta
  • Council of Undergraduate Research

Awards

  • Outstanding Educator Award GVSU Alumni Association, GVSU, 2011
  • Distinguished Undergraduate Mentoring Award, GVSU, 2011
  • Panhellenic Association Excellence in Teaching Award, GVSU, 2008
  • Nominated for the Pew Teaching Excellence Award, GVSU, 2008
  • Nominated as an Outstanding GVSU Faculty Member, Faculty Recognition Banquet, 2008
  • Nominated by Students and EAC to Speak at the "Last Lecture Series", GVSU, 2008
  • Nominated as "Someone Who Makes a Difference at GVSU" Office of Residence Life, 2008
  • GVSU Michigan Science Olympiad Regional Tournament Award, 2008
  • Summer Scholars Program S3 Award Grand Valley State University, 2008
  • Pew FTLC Teaching Development Travel Grant, 2008
  • Pew FTLC Student Enrichment Travel Grant, 2008
  • Scholarly Travel Grant-in-Aid, Faculty Research and Development, GVSU, 2008
  • Student Scholarly Travel Grant-in-Aid, Faculty Research and Development, GVSU, 2008
  • Inducted Into Beta Gamma Sigma, Academic Honor Society for Top Business Graduates, 2008
  • Educational Support Program (ESP) Professor of the Year, GVSU, 2007
  • WHO'S WHO Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, UND, 2002
  • Dr. Roland G. Severson Graduate Teaching Award,UND, 2002
  • NSF ND-EPSCoR Doctoral Fellowship, UND, 2001
  • Dr. Roland G. Severson Graduate Research Award for Excellence, UND, 2001
  • Dr. Ernest and Jennie Coon Scholarship, University of North Dakota Foundation, 2001
  • Grant-in-Aid for Research,Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, 2000

Page last modified December 23, 2011