Faculty & Staff – Department of Chemistry

Dr. Patrisha Pham Bugayong earned her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Mississippi State University in 2009. Her graduate research focused on the chemical synthesis and development of innovative separation methods involving molecular tagging, ionic liquids and chiral proline with pharmaceutical and renewable energy applications. Previously, Dr. Bugayong earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. After completing her Ph.D., she worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Dave Swalm School of Chemical Engineering at Mississippi State University from 2009 to 2013. At MSU, she developed chemical materials and methodologies for the conversion of activated sludge biomass to renewable energy and value-added products. In 2013, she pursued additional postdoctoral research work at the Audubon Sugar Institute of Louisiana State University AgCenter. At LSU, she worked on lignocellulosic biomass conversion to renewable energy and value-added products. To date, she has authored/co-authored 16 peer-reviewed publications, 8 book chapters and has made over 60 paper and poster presentations. In August 2015, she joined the faculty of Benedictine College where she is an Assistant Professor in organic chemistry.

Sarah received her bachelor’s in Chemistry at Occidental College and continued her study at the University of Minnesota for her master’s and Ph.D. She then taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the State University of New York at Oswego for two years before accepting the position here at Benedictine. As a lanthanide chemist, she is one of the few who talk about the bottom of the periodic table on a regular basis and specializes in metals in medicine and the environment. She is the daughter of a Lutheran pastor and has lived in 7 different states, but was excited about clicking her heels to make BC home.

Dr. Kevin Sanchez earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2016, before going on to pursue his doctorate at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He completed his Ph.D. in the spring of 2022 and officially joined the faculty at Benedictine College in the summer of 2022. Dr. Sanchez has engaged with a number of different disciplines within biology and biochemistry across his scientific career, doing research in fields ranging from bacterial weapon systems to crab behavioral ecology. A trained molecular biologist and biochemist, his main focus is on the ESX-1 secretion system, a protein weapon system found in bacteria like M. tuberculosis that is used to survive the host immune system and continue to cause disease.

Dr. League holds a BS in mathematics and chemistry from Bradley University, and a PhD in computational chemistry from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. He has taught chemistry labs at the University of Minnesota, Hamline University, and SUNY Oswego. He is from Peoria, Illinois.

Sister M. Lucy Gantt earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Washington State University in 2000, followed by a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the University of Michigan in 2006. Her doctoral work focused on elucidating the metal-dependence and catalytic mechanism of the enzyme histone deacetylase 8, which is a target of various anticancer pharmaceuticals. After completing her Ph.D., Sr. M. Lucy Gantt performed postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign from 2007 to 2009. There she studied the catalytic mechanism of the membrane-protein aromatase using cryo-EPR spectroscopy. In 2009, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. After making first profession of vows, she taught for eight years in the chemistry and biology departments at Franciscan University of Steubenville.  From 2021 through 2023 she lived in Germany at her congregation’s motherhouse, studying German for translating.  Sr. M. Lucy is excited to now be teaching chemistry at Benedictine College, as of August 2023. To date, she has authored/co-authored eight peer-reviewed publications and has made ten poster presentations.