- Haynes Group Website: http://www.chem.umn.edu/groups/haynes/people.html
- Our group studies pressing fundamental and applied problems in immunology, nanoscience, and environmental science using a diverse set of techniques. We apply laser spectroscopy and microelectrochemistry to probe chemical messenger synthesis and exocytosis in individual cells, including mast cells, chromaffin cells, and blood platelets. We also fabricate nanoparticles to study and exploit size-dependent phenomena, with applications ranging from drug delivery to environmental sensors. Additionally, we combine our knowledge of nanoparticles and biological cells to investigate the potential cytotoxicity of nanoparticles added to consumer products.
- Christy completed her undergraduate work at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN (1998) with a major in Chemistry and minors in Mathematics and Spanish. Christy's doctoral work was done at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (2003) under the direction of Richard P. Van Duyne. Her doctoral thesis title is "Fundamentals and Applications of Nanoparticle Optics and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering." Before arriving at the University of Minnesota, Christy performed postdoctoral research in the laboratory of R. Mark Wightman at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2005). Her efforts in the Wightman lab focused on applying microelectrode amperometry to probe single cell exocytosis.
