Notable Achievements

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sara Massey gave a talk at the American Chemical Society Spring 2025 national meeting in San Diego on her recently published work with chemistry graduate Lexi Fantz ’21 on low energy chlorophylls in cyanobacterial light-harvesting.

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Sara C. Massey

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Expertise

Physical Chemistry, Biophysical Chemistry, Electronic Spectroscopy

Sara Massey joined the faculty at Southwestern University in August, 2019. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2019 and her B.S. and B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010. She worked as an analytical chemist at Signature Science LLC from 2010-2012 and as a drug metabolism/pharmacokinetics research associate at Peloton Therapeutics Inc (since acquired by Merck) from 2012-2013 before beginning her graduate studies.

  • Biography

    Sara Massey joined the faculty at Southwestern University in August, 2019. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2019 and her B.S. and B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010. She worked as an analytical chemist at Signature Science LLC from 2010-2012 and as a drug metabolism/pharmacokinetics research associate at Peloton Therapeutics Inc (since acquired by Merck) from 2012-2013 before beginning her graduate studies.

  • Research

    My group’s research focuses on how energy transfer dynamics in photosynthetic organisms are uniquely tuned to the organism’s environment. We integrate physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, biophysics, and biology to characterize diatoms, a group of photosynthetic algae. We use steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies and microscopy to understand how native environmental effects and external stressors influence light harvesting.

  • Publications

    SU undergraduate co-authors are underlined.

    1. Sohail, S.H., Sohoni, S., Ting, P-C., Fantz, L.R., Abdulhadi, S.M., MacGregor-Chatwin, C., Hitchcock, A., Hunter, C.N., Engel, G.S., and Massey, S.C. Functional Connectivity of Red Chlorophylls in Cyanobacterial Photosystem I Revealed by Fluence-Dependent Transient Absorption. Phys. Chem. B., 129, 3191-3197 (2025) DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5c00198.
    2. Higgins, J.S., Allodi, M.A., Lloyd, L.T., Otto, J.P., Sohail, S.H., Saer, R.G., Wood, R.E., Massey, S.C., Ting, P-C., Blankenship, R.E., and Engel, G.S. Redox Conditions Correlated with Vibronic Coupling Modulate Quantum Beats in Photosynthetic Pigment-Protein Complexes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 118, e2112817118 (2021) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2112817118.
    3. Higgins, J.S., Lloyd, L.T., Sohail, S.H., Allodi, M.A., Otto, J.P., Saer, R.G., Wood, R.E., Massey, S.C., Ting, P-C., Blankenship, R.E., and Engel, G.S. Photosynthesis Tunes Quantum Mechanical Mixing of Electronic and Vibrational States to Steer Exciton Energy Transfer. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 118, e2018240118 (2021) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2018240118.
    4. Massey, S.C., Ting, P-C., Yeh, S-H., Dahlberg, P.D., Sohail, S.H., Allodi, M.A., Martin, E.C., Kais, S., Hunter, C.N., and Engel, G.S. Orientational Dynamics of Transition Dipoles and Exciton Relaxation in LH2 from Ultrafast Two-Dimensional Anisotropy. J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 10, 270-277 (2019) DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b03223.
    5. Allodi, M.A., Otto, J.P., Sohail, S.H., Saer, R.G., Wood, R.E., Rolczynski, B.S., Massey, S.C., Ting, P-C., Blankenship, R.E., and Engel, G.S. Redox Conditions Affect Ultrafast Exciton Transport in Photosynthetic Pigment-Protein Complexes. J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 9, 89-95 (2018) DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b02883.
    6. Dahlberg, P.D., Ting, P-C., Massey, S.C., Allodi, M.A., Martin, E.C., Hunter, C.N., and Engel, G.S. Mapping the Ultrafast Flow of Harvested Solar Energy in Living Photosynthetic Cells. Nat. Commun., 8, 988 (2017) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01124-z.
    7. Sohail, S.H., Dahlberg, P.D., Allodi, M.A., Massey, S.C., Ting, P-C., Martin, E.C., Hunter, C.N., and Engel, G.S. Broad Manifold of Excitonic States in Light-Harvesting Complex 1 Promotes Efficient Unidirectional Energy Transfer in vivo. J. Chem. Phys., 147, 131101 (2017) DOI: 10.1063/1.4999057.
    8. Dahlberg, P.D., Ting, P-C., Massey, S.C., Martin, E.C., Hunter, C.N., and Engel, G.S. Electronic Structure and Dynamics of Higher-Lying Excited States in Light Harvesting Complex 1 from Rhodobacter sphaeroides. J. Phys. Chem. A, 120, 4124-4130 (2016) DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.6b04146.
    9. Flanagan, M.L., Long, P.D., Dahlberg, P.D., Rolczynski, B.S., Massey, S.C., and Engel, G.S. Mutations to R. sphaeroides Reaction Center Perturb Energy Levels and Vibronic Coupling but Not Observed Energy Transfer Rates. J. Phys. Chem. A, 120, 1479-1487 (2016) DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.5b08366.
    10. Chipuk, J., Mazzitelli, C., Kendall, J., Straight, S., Reaves, M., and Chamberlin, S. Tunable, Self-curing Polymers for the Forensic Collection of Latent Signatures from Within Porous Materials. Homeland Security Affairs, Supplement 5, Article 5 (2012) DOI: 10.1109/THS.2011.6107885.
  • Presentations

    RECENT NATIONAL CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (SU undergraduate co-authors are underlined)

    Functional Connectivity of Red Chlorophyll Sites in Cyanobacterial Photosystem I Revealed by Fluence-dependent Transient Absorption. Oral, ACS Spring 2025 National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 23-27, 2025.

    Salaz, K.C., Glenn-Millhouse, J., Slover, A.K., Waldie, C.L., and Massey, S.C. Red Light and Magnesium Stress on Chaetoceros and Phaeodactylum tricornutum Diatoms. Poster, ACS Spring 2025 National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 23-27, 2025.

    Slover, A.K., Waldie, C.L., Nittala, M.M., Buhari, M.Y., Salaz, K.C., Glenn-Millhouse, J., and Massey, S.C. Stress Response of Phaeodactylum tricornutum Due to Red Light and Prolonged Red Light Exposure. Poster, ACS Spring 2025 National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 23-27, 2025.

    Fluence-dependent Transient Absorption Reveals the Functional Connectivity of Red Chlorophyll Sites in Cyanobacterial PSI. Oral, 2nd North American Photosynthesis Congress, Atlanta, GA, June 3-6, 2024.

    Nittala, M.M., Buhari, M.Y., Nittala, S.S., and Massey, S.C. Effect of Red Irradiance on Energy Transfer in Different Ecotypes of Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Poster, ACS Spring 2024 National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 17-21, 2024.

    Nittala, S.S., Buhari, M.Y., Nittala, M.M., Nazeer, N.A., and Massey, S.C. Effect of Iron Stress on Light-harvesting Dynamics in the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Poster, ACS Spring 2024 National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 17-21, 2024.

    Massey, S.C., Buhari, M.Y., Nittala, S.S., Nittala, M.M., and Nazeer, N.A. The Light-Harvesting Response of the Diatom P. tricornutum to External Stressors Varies by Native Environment. Poster, Photosynthesis Gordon Research Conference, Newry, ME, July 23-28, 2023.

    Buhari, M.Y., Nittala, M.M., Nittala, S.S., and Massey, S.C. Effect of Varying Irradiances on the Light-harvesting of Coastal and Oceanic Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Poster, ACS Spring 2023 National Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, March 25-30, 2023.

    Nittala, S.S., Buhari, M.Y., Nittala, M.M., Nazeer, N.A., and Massey, S.C. Effect of Iron Stress on Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Light-harvesting in Coastal vs. Oceanic Environments. Poster, ACS Spring 2023 National Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, March 25-30, 2023.

    Buhari, M.Y., Gonzalez, F.M., Cano, G.A., and Massey, S.C. Nature or Nurture? Effects of Native Environment on Diatom Light Harvesting. Poster, ACS Spring 2022 National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 20-24, 2022.

    Massey, S.C., Sohail, S.H., Sohoni, S., Ting, P-C., Fantz, L.R., MacGregor-Chatwin, C., Hitchcock, A., Hunter, C.N. and Engel, G.S. Power-Dependent Dynamics Reveal Path of Energy Transfer in Membrane-Bound Photosystem I. Poster, ACS Spring 2022 National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 20-24, 2022.

    Massey, S.C., Cano, G.A., and Fantz, L.R. Effect of Native Coastal or Oceanic Environment on Light-Harvesting Machinery in Photosynthetic Diatoms. Poster, ACS Spring 2021 national virtual meeting, April 5-30, 2021.

     

    RECENT REGIONAL CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (SU undergraduate co-authors are underlined)

    Glenn-Millhouse, J., Salaz, K.C., Slover, A.K., Waldie, C.L. and Massey, S.C. Investigating the Effects of Low Magnesium on Phaeodactylum tricornutum F710 Fluorescence. Poster, ACS Southwest Regional Meeting, Waco, TX, October 20-23, 2024.

    Salaz, K.C., Slover, A.K., Waldie, C.L., Millhouse, J., and Massey, S.C. Red Light Stress on Chaetoceros Diatoms. Poster, ACS Southwest Regional Meeting, Waco, TX, October 20-23, 2024.

    Slover, A.K., Waldie, C.L., Millhouse, J., Salaz, K.C., and Massey, S.C. The Effects of Red Light and Prolonged Red Light Stress on Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Poster, ACS Southwest Regional Meeting, Waco, TX, October 20-23, 2024.

    Buhari, M.Y., Gonzalez, F.M., Cano, G.A., and Massey, S.C. Effect of Native Coastal or Oceanic Environment on Light-Harvesting Machinery in Photosynthetic Diatoms. Poster, ACS Southwest Regional Meeting, Austin, TX, October 31-November 3, 2021.