Mary Jo Ondrechen (born 1953) is an American chemist, educator, researcher, community leader and activist. She is a professor of chemistry and chemical biology and principal investigator Northeastern University College of Science Faculty - Chemistry and Chemical Biology
(2014). of the computational biology research group at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Education

Ondrechen received an

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

certified bachelor's degree in chemistry from

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in 1974. She pursued doctoral studies in chemistry and chemical physics at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, and earned the Ph.D. degree in 1978 under the direction of Mark A. Ratner. After postdoctoral research appointments at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and at

Tel-Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the latter as a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

postdoctoral fellow, she joined the faculty at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts in 1980.Pollastri, M.P

(2017)

Research and discoveries

Her earlier research achievements include the design of

molecules A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry ...

and materials with desirable spectroscopic and conductive properties, prediction of electric field effects in molecules and

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, re ...

, the optimization of energy conversion devices, and the design and characterization of ionic conductor materials for rechargeable batteries. Her current research activities include modeling of biological

macromolecules A macromolecule is a "molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass." Polymers are physi ...

Finley, A.
Investigating Enzyme-Substrate Interactions with Vitamin B6
(1999). and predictive calculations for

functional genomics Functional genomics is a field of molecular biology that attempts to describe gene (and protein) functions and interactions. Functional genomics make use of the vast data generated by genomic and transcriptomic projects (such as genome sequen ...

. She co-developed THEMATICSProtein Function Predicted With New "THEMATICS" Method Developed By Northeastern University & Brandeis Scientists
ScienceDaily, (2001).Borman, S., From sequence to consequence. Chemical and Engineering News, 79(48): p. 31-33 (2001).Ball, P.

Nature, (2001). (Theoretical Microscopic Anomalous Titration Curve Shapes), a computational predictor of functional information about proteins from their three-dimensional structure alone. THEMATICS predicts catalytic and

binding sites In biochemistry and molecular biology, a binding site is a region on a macromolecule such as a protein that binds to another molecule with specificity. The binding partner of the macromolecule is often referred to as a ligand. Ligands may includ ...

in proteins with high sensitivity and good selectivity. A unique feature of THEMATICS is that it requires neither sequence nor structural comparisons and hence applies to novel folds, orphan sequences, and also to engineered

polypeptide Peptides are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. Polypeptides that have a molecular mass of 10,000 Da or more are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty ...

systems. She is also the co-developer, with Wenxu Tong and Ronald J. Williams, of a

machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of study in artificial intelligence concerned with the development and study of Computational statistics, statistical algorithms that can learn from data and generalise to unseen data, and thus perform Task ( ...

technology called Partial Order Optimum Likelihood (POOL). POOL is a monotonicity-constrained maximum likelihood method for the prediction of properties that depend monotonically on the input features. This method, coupled with THEMATICS input features, is a top-performing

active site In biology and biochemistry, the active site is the region of an enzyme where substrate molecules bind and undergo a chemical reaction. The active site consists of amino acid residues that form temporary bonds with the substrate, the ''binding s ...

predictor for protein structures. These methods are also being used for the successful annotation of

structural genomics Structural genomics seeks to describe the Protein Structure, 3-dimensional structure of every protein encoded by a given genome. This genome-based approach allows for a high-throughput method of structure determination by a combination of protein ...

proteins, i.e. for the discovery of the function of gene products whose function is currently unknown. Her Structurally Aligned Local Sites of Activity (SALSA) method uses local sets of

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

residues that are computationally predicted to be active in catalysis to identify the biochemical function of

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

structures of unknown function. These computational methods are also currently used to understand how enzymes affect

catalysis Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

. Ondrechen has emphasized and developed the concept of spatially extended enzyme active sites, and that the participation of

amino acids Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the Proteinogenic amino acid, 22 α-amino acids incorporated into p ...

, even if they are distant from the site of the catalyzed reaction, may be predicted with a relatively simple calculation.Herring, A.
Form and function in enzyme activity
(2012). Her research group has also developed computational methods to improve the design of artificial enzymes. In 2020 Ondrechen's research group added a new project to characterize the proteins of

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the Novel coronavirus, provisional nam ...

, the virus that causes

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, and to seek interventions to disrupt the viral life cycle https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/20200501/hopkinton-resident-receives-national-science-foundation-grant-to-study-coronavirus Hopkinton resident receives National Science Foundation grant to study coronavirus.https://news.northeastern.edu/2020/05/15/the-coronavirus-might-have-hidden-weak-spots-machine-learning-could-help-find-them/ The coronavirus might have hidden weak spots. Machine learning could help find them.

Community activism

Ondrechen is a community leader and activist. She has recently served on the board of advisors of the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC), representing the interests of community and tribal stakeholders.Willett, A.

(2012) She is the former president of the board of directors of the North American Indian Center of Boston ( NAICOB)Dunn, J.
About NAICOB
(2013). and served as chair of the board of directors of the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based American Indian Science and Engineering Society ( AISES) from 2011 to 2013.EchoHawk, S.
AISES Board of Directors
(2014). An advocate for stewardship of the Earth, she previously has served on the Conservation Commission for

Hopkinton, Massachusetts Hopkinton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, west of Boston. The town is best known as the starting point of the Boston Marathon, held annually on Patriots' Day each April, and as the he ...

, and on the Community Leaders Network of the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

. She has been active in the promotion of innovative technologies to solve environmental problems.In Situ Chemical Oxidation
(2000).Technical and Regulatory Guidance for the Triad Approach: A New Paradigm for Environmental Project Management
(2003).The Use of Direct Push Well Technology for Long-term Environmental Monitoring in Groundwater Investigations
(2006). She also advocates for the inclusion of public and tribal stakeholders in environmental evaluation, decision-making, and management. She was a speaker at the

March for Science The March for Science (formerly known as the Scientists' March on Washington) was an international series of rallies and marches held on Earth Day. The inaugural march was held on April 22, 2017, in Washington, D.C., and more than 600 other cit ...

in Washington, D.C. in April 2017. She has given numerous presentations on diversity and inclusiveness in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

) fields.Hernandez, R.
OXIDE Biography: Mary Jo Ondrechen
(2014).Pathways to Science, Mary Jo Ondrechen
(2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ondrechen, Mary Jo 1953 births Living people American women chemists Northeastern University faculty Reed College alumni American computational chemists American women academics 21st-century Native American scientists 20th-century Native American scientists