Dr. Seann Mulcahy’s Lab
Dr. Seann Mulcahy’s Lab
About Our Research
Dr. Mulcahy’s research group uses organic synthesis, computational modeling, and biochemical techniques to study molecules known as beta-carbolines. These nitrogen-containing small molecules have been shown to have important medicinal properties, including binding to DNA and the serotonin receptor.
The group has been continuously funded by private foundations and federal granting agencies since 2014. Totaling more than $2 million, this funding has included agencies such as the American Chemical Society, Rhode Island Foundation, RI-INBRE, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Mulcahy’s group seeks to develop new chemical tools for making beta-carbolines in an atropisomeric form. These molecules are unique because they cannot fully rotate around one of their carbon-carbon single bonds. This limitation locks the beta-carbolines in two distinct propeller-like forms that are non-identical mirror images of one another. Preparing one or the other of these forms is a challenge in the field of chemical synthesis but access to these distinct molecules is important for pharmaceutical and material applications.
Dr. Mulcahy and his team of undergraduates are researching ways to selectively make new atropisomeric beta-carbolines using a transition metal catalyst to stitch together the key components. From there, his team seeks to determine whether the two atropisomeric forms will inhibit key biochemical transformations with specificity.
In 2024, Dr. Mulcahy was awarded the Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. This award supports the research and teaching careers of talented early-career faculty in the chemical sciences at primarily undergraduate institutions based on accomplishment in scholarly research with undergraduates. In 2026, Dr. Mulcahy was awarded Providence College’s Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award, which is awarded to a faculty member who demonstrates the highest standards in research, scholarship, and contributions to his/her field.
About Our Students
We welcome new students from all backgrounds and areas of expertise. Students in the group have a passion for chemistry, a strong work ethic, and a mindset that embraces challenge. We also make our time together fun by playing music in the lab, watching World Cup soccer together, carving pumpkins for Halloween, making Instagram stories for @pc_chemistry, or grabbing lunch at The Abbey during the summer.
Our students have been awarded notable grants, fellowships, and awards to support and/or honor their research in and contributions to chemistry at PC. These include the Robert H. Walsh Student Research Fellowship, a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant, the McKnight Prize in the Chemical Sciences, and the Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious award for undergraduate STEM students.
Undergraduate research students from the group have graduated with an impressive skill set that make them successful in Ph.D. programs in chemistry, as employees in the chemical, biotech, or pharma industry, as aspiring health professionals in medical, dental, and physician’s assistant programs, or in entry-level positions in associated fields like education, business, law, and entrepreneurship.
Our Recent Graduates
Emily Orloff, ’22 has been an Associate Scientist in Discovery Chemistry at the pharmaceutical company Merck in Boston, MA since graduation.
Cristina Diaz, ‘25
Research Chemist at Amentum, Los Angeles, CA
Joe Mazzucca, ‘25
Manufacturing Technician at Genezen, Lexington, MA
Patrick Asher, ‘23
MSN Candidate at MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA
Giancarlo Irizarry, ‘23
MD Candidate at University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, PR
Lorenzo Battistoni, ‘22
PhD Candidate in Chemistry at Boston College, Boston, MA
Colby Agostino, ‘22
PhD Candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Riley Hughes, ’23 is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
Michael Shaw, ‘21
Dental Candidate at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Kyle Medas, ‘20
Scientist II at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Taunton, MA
Rob Lesch, ‘20
Principal Research Associate at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA
Erin McHugh, ’19
Principal Associate at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA
Gersham Rainone, MD ‘19
Neurosurgery Resident at University of South Florida, Riverview, FL
Publications and Presentations
The Mulcahy Group has published 9 peer-reviewed journals articles since 2012. These articles feature the work of 30 undergraduate students, who appear on the publications as co-authors. Nearly every student in the group has had the opportunity to present their discoveries at the American Chemical Society National Meeting held twice each year in locations such as New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Chicago, and Boston.
Publications: PC undergraduates are underlined:
- Riley R. Hughes, Lorenzo D. Battistoni, Matthew J. Ciesla, Te’jandrio Bolton, Patrick M. Asher, Giancarlo Irizarry, Alma de Jesus Antonio Martinez, Kristen M. Baker, and Seann P. Mulcahy. Asymmetric Synthesis of an Atropisomeric beta-Carboline via Regioselective Intermolecular Rh(I)-Catalyzed [2+2+2] Cyclotrimerization. Tetrahedron Letters, 2024, 146, 155187.
- Kristen M. Baker, Colby J. Agostino, Emily A. Orloff, Lorenzo D. Battisoni, Riley R. Hughes, Erin M. McHugh, Michael P. Shaw, Jordan Nafie, and Seann P. Mulcahy. Design, Synthesis, and Physicochemical Studies of Configurationally Stable beta-Carboline Atropisomers. The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2022, 87 (21), 14068-14077.
- Medas, K. Lesch, R. Edioma, F. Ndahayo, V. Wrenn, S. Mulcahy, S. Metal-Catalyzed Cyclotrimerization Reactions of Cyanamides: Synthesis of 2-Aryl-alpha-carbolines. Organic Letters 2020(22),3135-3139.
- Foley, C. Al-Issa, Y. Hiller, K. Mulcahy, S. Synthesis and Structure-Activity Relationships of 1-Aryl-beta-carbolines as Affinity Probes for the 5-Hydroxytryptamine Receptor. ACS Omega 2019(4),9807-9812.
- Saliba, B. Khanal, S. O’Donnell, M. Queenan, K. Song, J. Gentile, M. Mulcahy, S. Parallel strategies for the synthesis of annulated pyrido[3,4-b]indoles via Rh(1)- and Pd(0)-catalyzed cyclotrimerization. Tetrahedron Letters 2018 (59),4311-4314.
- Giulietti, J. Tate, P. Cai, A. Cho, B. Mulcahy, S. (2016) DNA-binding studies of the natural product eudistomin U. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2016 (26),4705-4708.
- Varelas, J. Khanal, S. O’Donnell, M. Mulcahy, S. Concise Synthesis of Annulated Pyrido[3,4-b]indoles via Rh(I)-Catalyzed Cyclization. Organic Letters 2015 (17),5512-5514.
- Roggero, C. Giulietti, J. Mulcahy, S. Efficient synthesis of eudistomin U and evaluation of its cytotoxicity. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2014 (24),3549-3551.
- Mulcahy, S. Varelas, J. Three-step synthesis of an annulated beta-carboline via palladium catalysis. Tetrahedron Letters 2013 (54), 6599-6601.
