Meghan Johnston became a member of the Simmons faculty in 2022, following a decade of teaching in New York. She brings extensive experience in undergraduate instruction, particularly in organic and medicinal chemistry. Dr. Johnston has collaborated with students on research projects that have resulted in publications and conference presentations. She is dedicated to mentoring students and fostering deeper student engagement in the sciences. Her research focuses on the endocannabinoid system, pharmacology, and chemical education. She holds a PhD in chemistry from Northeastern University.
Education
- PhD, Organic Chemistry, from Northeastern University – Center for Drug Discovery
- BS, Chemistry; Molecular and Cell Biology, from University of Connecticut
Courses
- CHEM 224L Organic Chemistry I Lab
- CHEM 225L Organic Chemistry II Lab
- CHEM 343 Advanced Topics in Modern Chemistry — Medicinal Chemistry
- CHEM 113 General Chemistry I Lab
- CHEM 224 Organic Chemistry I
Licenses/Certifications
- Pharmacology — Harvard Medical School HMX Fundamentals, 2024
- Inclusive STEM Teaching project — National Science Foundation EdX, 2023
Publications
Johnston, M.R.; Sobhi, H.F.; El Hajjar, A. Synthesis and Characterization of Substrates for Grafting Polymers Used in Medical Plastics. Chemical Data Collections. 2021, 31, 100621.
Johnston, M.R. Chemistry of Cannabis: An Interdisciplinary Course. J. Chem. Educ. 2020, 97, 12, 4311.
Johnston, M.R.; Sobhi, H.F. Advances in Fatty Acid Analysis for Clinical Investigation and Diagnosis using GC/MS Methodology. J Biochem Analyt Stud 2017, 3(1), 1.
Johnston, M.; Makriyannis, A.; Whitten, K.; Drew, C.; Best, F. Bio-catalyzed Regioselective Synthesis in Undergraduate Organic Laboratories: Multi-step Synthesis of 2-Arachidonoylglycerol. J. Chem. Educ. 2016, 93, 2080.
Johnston, M. Endocannabinoid Enzymes Monoacylglycerol Lipase and Diacylglycerol Lipase: Biochemical Studies and Novel Ligands. Ph.D. Dissertation, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2012.
Johnston, M.; Bhatt, S.R.; Sikka, S.; Gatley, S.J.; Duclos, Jr., R.I. Assay and Inhibition of Diacylglycerol Lipase Activity. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2012, 22, 4585.
Duclos, Jr., R.I.; Johnston, M.; Vadivel, S.K.; Makriyannis, A.; Glaser, S.T.; Gatley, S.J. A Methodology for Radiolabeling of the Endocannabinoid 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Journal of Organic Chemistry 2011, 76, 2049.
Duclos, Jr., R.I.; Gatley, S.J.; Bhatt, S.; Johnston, M. The Preparation of 2-O-[1’-14C] arachidonoyl-1-O-stearoyl-sn-glycerol. Journal of Labeled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals 2009, 52, 324 – 326.
Znovok, N.; Williams, J.; Johnston, M.; Pandarinathan, L.; Karageorgos, I.; Janero, D.R.; Li, J.; Krishnan, S.C.; Makriyannis, A. Full Mass Spectrometric Characterization of Human Monoacylglycerol Lipase Generated by Large-Scale Expression and Single-Step Purification. Journal of Proteome Research 2008, 7, 2158 – 2164.
Znovok, N.; Williams, J.; Johnston, M.; Pandarinathan, L.; Karageorgos, I.; Janero, D.R.; Krishnan, S.C.; Makriyannis, A. Covalent Inhibitors of Human Monoacylglycerol Lipase: Ligand-Assisted Characterization of the Catalytic Site by Mass Spectrometry and Mutational Analysis. Chemistry and Biology 2008, 15, 854 – 862.