The Summer I Became a Chemist at NJIT

Written by Venus John

This summer, I presented my research at the Bergen Community College's STEM C^2 Research Summit on August 6, 2025. 

Ten weeks before this exciting event, I was working under principal investigator Dr. Genoa Warner in the Laboratory of Endocrine Disruption and Chemical Biology (EDC Lab) at New Jersey Institute of Technology.  

Dr. Warner’s research is an investigation on the toxicity and mechanisms of understudied endocrine disrupting chemicals in living organisms to raise awareness in order to protect future generations. As someone who enjoys learning about health and studying chemistry, I admired her work tremendously.  

Thankfully, the Bridges to Baccalaureate (B2B) program at PCCC provided me with funding to do research and Dr. Kala Mayur, NNJ-B2B Site Coordinator, gave me her guidance on obtaining the research opportunity to work in Dr. Warner’s lab. 

Dr. Warner gave me the opportunity to work with two of her current PhD students, who mentored and trained me. My mentors were always patient and willing to help me, and their support made me feel comfortable working in the lab. They showed me all the chemicals and tools they use and taught me a great deal about organic chemistry, from synthesis and polarity to chemical structure and analysis.  

One of the research projects I worked on with my mentors was making a phthalate alternative and its metabolite. Phthalates are added to plastics to make them flexible and durable as well as fragrances to help their scent linger. Humans can be exposed to phthalates through their everyday routine and can inhale, ingest, and absorb the chemical through their skin. When phthalates enter the body, they get broken down during metabolism into smaller molecules called “metabolites”. These metabolites can travel to various organs in the body and disrupt their normal function. 

By creating a phthalate alternative and its metabolite, we can investigate the toxicity of our products in the future and compare them to commercial phthalates and their metabolites.  

Being able to present our research, “Synthesis of a Phthalate Alternative and Its Metabolite,” at the STEM Symposium was a new, yet thrilling experience for me. I’m happy to have the opportunity to share my knowledge about what I did over the summer with the attendees. 

I am grateful to Dr. Warner, my mentors, all EDC Lab members, B2B, Dr. Kala Mayur, PCCC, friends, and family for helping me achieve this huge milestone in my life.  - Venus John