Dr. Netkal Made Gowda, Ph.D.

Professor
1 University Circle
332B Currens Hall
Macomb, IL 61455
Work: 309/298-1760
Fax: 309/298-2180

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Additional Information

Courses For Fall - 2009

Chem 150 - Lecture Schedule

Chem 401 - Inorganic Chem III

Chem 150 - Lab Schedule

Chem 150 - Contemp. Chem.

Office Hours

MWF 11:00 - 11:50 and 1:00 - 1:50; and by appointment; or walk-in basis

Teaching Areas

Inorganic Chemistry

Research Interests

The opportunity for students to get involved in meaningful research early in their careers has become increasingly attractive to our more serious chemistry students. The students in my research group have achieved a great deal of success in their research projects by learning virtually every technique needed in inorganic/organic synthesis, characterization of products, screening of new drugs for anticancer activities, and chemical kinetics. In addition, my students learn the following: proper method of keeping research notebooks; proper recording and reporting of results; proper chemical literature search; proper use of computer programs, such as ChemDraw; accepted safety precautions to be followed in labs; and problem-solving skills. It is important to involve undergraduate students in all aspects of a research project rather than being restricted to a single routine job. In my labs, both undergraduate and graduate students work together.My main research interests are in the following areas:1)Coordination Chemistry: A study of the synthesis and characterization of coordination compounds (metal complexes) of transition and lanthanide metal ions with N-alkylphenothiazine (NAPTZ) ligands;2)Chemical Kinetics: Kinetics and mechanisms of oxidation of the following classes of substrates with manganese(III) and chloramine-T and other haloamines: (i) biologically important compounds such as amino acids, peptides, nicotinic acid, and acetylcholine, and (ii) other inorganic as well as organic compounds. We would like to expand this study to ligand substitution reactions of transition metal-NAPTZ complexes.3) Synthesis and Screening of Anticancer Drugs: This joint project (NIH-AREA supported) with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, involves the design and development of small molecules, such as N10-substituted phenoxazines, that specifically inhibit the kinase activity of Akt and its signal transduction pathway in cancer cells. There is mounting evidence for the role of Akt as a central player in tumerigenesis. At WIU, we synthesize phenoxazines and screen them for cancer cell growth inhibition, etc. and make them available to our collaborators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to screen them for their ability to inhibit Akt activation and its downstream targets without affecting the upstream targets or MAPkinase pathway. They will evaluate the most potent inhibitor/drug for its ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. It is expected that these new compounds will provide an effective treatment for cancer with minimum side effects.In my research group, each undergraduate student works, under my direct supervision, with a graduate (master’s) student in order to have continuity in the project and he/she gives oral progress reports during the term and submits a detailed written report at the end of the semester. In other words, they are trained to do basic research and are expected to be able to discuss their results.These student research projects and my collaborative work with three research groups in India and in the US have enabled us to publish over 75 research articles* (with a career total of over 135 publications) in peer-reviewed national/international journals and present over 90 papers in scientific conferences/meetings since 1989. We strongly believe that the success experienced by these students will act as a catalyst to encourage the involvement of many others in our research projects.

Recent Scholarly Activities

Major external funding agencies include: National Institute of Health; National Science Foundation; American Heart Association; and Illinois State Board of Education.*Our research articles have been published in the following refereed journals: Medicinal Chemistry; Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic, Metal-Organic, and Nano-Metal Chemistry; American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE); Int. J. Chem. Kinetics; J. Phys. Chem. (ACS journal); Anal. Chem. (ACS journal); Anal. Chim. Acta; J. Molecular Structure; Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical; Oxidation Communications; Talanta (UK); Microchem. Journal; European Polymer J.; J. Biochem. (UK); Mutation Research; Appl. Environ. Microbiol (USA); Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. (USA).