Teresa A. Garrett

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Director of Biochemistry

Ms. Garrett earned a B.S. degree in biochemistry from Florida State University in 1994.   She received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Duke University in 1998.  Following a five-year hiatus to study early child development in her two beautiful daughters she had a post-doctoral position at Duke University.  This work included participation in the NIH-funded, large-scale collaborative LIPID MAPS (lipidmaps.org).  She joined the Vassar faculty in 2007.

Her research involves the biochemistry, structure and biosynthesis of lipids in gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli. Currently she is investigating how E. coli make two minor lipids, N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserylglutamate. Student researchers are welcome and will learn to grow and manipulate E. coli and other gram-negative bacteria, extract and purify lipids from cells, analyze lipids with mass spectrometry and probe for new enzyme activities.

Ms. Garrett teaches General Chemistry (Chem 108/109), Chemical Principles (Chem 125), Biochemistry (Chem/Biol 272) and Protein Chemistry (Chem 323).