Dr. Katie Duncan joined the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering at Boise State University as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Spring of 2022. She will be working as part of the Quantum DNA group with the Ultrafast Spectroscopy Team. She earned her Ph.D. from Montana State University in Spring of 2022 under the guidance of Dr. Robert Walker. Her dissertation work focused on the partitioning behavior of synthetic organic solutes into model biological membranes using time-resolved emission spectroscopy and calorimetry. In her free time, she enjoys being outside, camping, hiking, and snowboarding.

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Montana State University (2022)

Dissertation: Solute Partitioning into Model Biological Membranes Studied with Time-Resolved Emission Spectroscopy and Calorimetry

• B.A. in Chemistry, University of Great Falls (renamed University of Providence) (2017)

Boise State University

First-Author Papers

• Duncan, K.M., Byers, H.M., Houdek, M., Roy, S.K., Biaggne, A., Patten, L.K., Barclay, M.S., Huff, J.S., Kellis, D.L., Wilson, C.K., Lee, J., Davis, P.H., Mass, O.A., Li, L., Turner, D.B., Hall, J.A., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., and Pensack, R.D. “Electronic Structure and Excited-State Dynamics of DNA-Templated Monomers and Aggregates of Asymmetric Polymethine Dyes” J. Phys. Chem. A 2023, 127, 4901–4918.
• Duncan, K.M., Kellis, D.L., Huff, J.S., Barclay, M.S., Lee, J., Turner, D.B., Davis, P.H., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., and Pensack, R.D. “Symmetry Breaking Charge Transfer in DNA-Templated Perylene Dimer Aggregates” Molecules 2022, 27, 6612.

Co-Author Papers

• Huff, J.S., Duncan, K.M., van Galen, C.J., Barclay, M.S., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., Davis, P.H., Turner, D.B., Stanley, R.J., and Pensack, R.D. “High-Sensitivity Electronic Stark Spectrometer Featuring a Laser-Driven Light Source” Rev. Sci. Instrum. 2023, 94, 094103.
• Wright, N.D., Huff, J.S., Barclay, M.S., Wilson, C.K., Barcenas, G., Duncan, K.M., Ketteridge, M., Obukhova, O.M., Krivoshey, A.I., Tatarets, A.L., Terpetschnig, E.A., Dean, J.C., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., Li, L., Mass, O.A., Davis, P.H., Lee, J., Turner, D.B., and Pensack, R.D. “Intramolecular Charge Transfer and Ultrafast Nonradiative Decay in DNA-Tethered Asymmetric Nitro- and Dimethylamino-Substituted Squaraines” J. Phys. Chem. A 2023, 127, 1141–1157.

Montana State University

• Duncan, K.M., Trousdale, R.C., Gonzales, C.N., Steel, W.H., and Walker, R.A. “l-Phenylalanine Partitioning Mechanisms in Model Biological Membranes” J. Phys. Chem. B 2023, 127, 5633–5644.
• Duncan, K.M., Steel, W.H., and Walker, R.A. “Amino Acids Change Solute Affinity for Lipid Bilayers” Biophys. J. 2021, 120, 1–12.
• Duncan, K.M., Casey, A., Gobrogge, C.A., Trousdale, R.C., Piontek, S.M., Cook, M.J., Steel, W.H., and Walker, R.A. “Coumarin Partitioning in Model Biological Membranes: Limitations of log P as a Predictor” J. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124, 8299–8308.