Michael J. Therien, William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemistry

Contact Info:

Office Location:	5330 French Family Science Cen
Office Phone:	(919) 660-1670
Email Address:
Web Page:	http://www.chem.duke.edu/~mt83/

Teaching (Spring 2026):

• CHEM 410.01, INORGANIC CHEMISTRY Synopsis

  FFSC 2237, WF 11:45 AM-01:00 PM

• CHEM 521.01, INORGANIC CHEMISTRY Synopsis

  FFSC 2237, W 06:30 PM-09:00 PM

Education:

Ph.D.	University of California, San Diego	1987
B.S.	University of St. Andrews (United Kingdom)	1982

Specialties:

Physical
Organic
Biomolecular Structure and Function
Synthesis
Nanoscience and Materials
Inorganic

Research Interests:

Our research involves the synthesis of compounds, supramolecular assemblies, nano-scale objects, and electronic materials with unusual ground-and excited-state characteristics, and interrogating these structures using state-of-the-art transient optical, spectroscopic, photophysical, and electrochemical methods. Over chemical dimensions that span molecules to materials, we probe experimental and theoretical aspects of charge migration reactions and ultrafast electron transfer processes. Insights into the structure-property relationships of molecular, nanoscale, and macroscopic materials allow us to fabricate polarizable and hyperpolarizable chromophores, structures for molecular electronics applications, optical limiters, and a wide range of other electrooptic and photonic materials that include novel conducting polymers, structures for solar energy conversion, and new platforms for in vivo optical imaging. Other efforts in our laboratory involve the elaborating de novo electron- and energy-transfer proteins, interrogating catalytic redox reactions, designing catalysts for small molecule activation, and developing new tools to manipulate nanoscale structures.

Areas of Interest:

Sythesis
Nanoscience and Materials
Inorganic

Keywords:

Absorption • Albumins • Algorithms • Alkynes • Amino Acid Sequence • Amino Acids • Animals • Antibodies • Antigen-Antibody Reactions • Antineoplastic Agents • Benzoquinones • Biocompatible Materials • Biological Markers • Butadienes • Carbon nanotubes • Cattle • Cell Adhesion • Cell Line, Tumor • Cell Membrane • Cell Movement • Cell Survival • Cells, Cultured • Chromatography, Gel • Circular Dichroism • Coloring Agents • Computer Simulation • Contrast Media • Cryoelectron Microscopy • Cytological Techniques • Dendritic Cells • Diagnostic Imaging • Dimerization • Drug Carriers • Drug Delivery Systems • Drug Design • Elastomers • Electric Conductivity • Electrochemistry • Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy • Electron Transport • Electrons • Ethers • Ferric Compounds • Ferritins • Fluorescence • Fluorescent Dyes • Gases • Gene Products, tat • Heme • Horses • Humans • Hydrogen Bonding • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions • Hydroquinones • Imidazoles • Imidoesters • Inflammation • Infrared Rays • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 • Ions • Iron • Kinetics • Lanthanoid Series Elements • Lasers • Least-Squares Analysis • Leukocytes • Ligands • Ligation • Light • Lipid Bilayers • Lipoproteins, LDL • Liposomes • Lithium • Lymph Nodes • Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed • Lysine • Male • Materials Testing • Melanoma, Experimental • Membrane Proteins • Membranes, Artificial • Metalloporphyrins • Metalloproteins • Methods • Mice • Micelles • Microscopy, Confocal • Microscopy, Electron, Transmission • Microscopy, Fluorescence • Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton • Models, Biological • Models, Chemical • Models, Molecular • Molecular Conformation • Molecular Dynamics Simulation • Molecular Mimicry • Molecular Probe Techniques • Molecular Probes • Molecular Sequence Data • Molecular Structure • Molecular Weight • Multiprotein Complexes • Myoglobin • Nanomedicine • Nanoparticles • Nanostructures • Nanotechnology • Nanotubes, Carbon • Neoplasms • Nonlinear Dynamics • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular • Oligosaccharides • Optical Processes • Optics and Photonics • Organometallic Compounds • Oxidation-Reduction • P-Selectin • Particle Size • Peptides • Phenotype • Phospholipids • Photochemical Processes • Photochemistry • Photons • Photosynthesis • Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins • Polyesters • Polyethylene • Polyethylene Glycols • Polyethylenes • Polymers • Porphyrins • Potentiometry • Protein Binding • Protein Conformation • Protein Folding • Protein Multimerization • Protein Structure, Quaternary • Protein Structure, Secondary • Protein Transport • Proteins • Protons • Pyridines • Quantum Theory • Quinones • Quinoxalines • Rats • Rats, Inbred F344 • Research Design • Ruthenium • Ruthenium Compounds • Semiconductors • Sensitivity and Specificity • Solubility • Spectrometry, Fluorescence • Spectrophotometry • Spectrophotometry, Atomic • Spectrophotometry, Infrared • Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet • Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared • Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared • Spectrum Analysis • Spleen • Static Electricity • Stereoisomerism • Stress, Physiological • Structure-Activity Relationship • Substrate Specificity • Surface Properties • Temperature • Thermodynamics • Thiadiazoles • Thiocarbamates • Time Factors • Titrimetry • Ultracentrifugation • Water • X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy • X-Ray Diffraction • Yttrium • Zinc • Zinc Compounds

Curriculum Vitae

Current Ph.D. Students  

• Ian Stanton  
• Laura Cleveland  
• Jeffrey Rawson  
• Josh Stetcher  
• Jae-Hong Park  
• Animesh Nayak  
• Wei Qi  
• Pravas Deria  

Postdocs Mentored

• Ying Ma (August, 2008 - present)  

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. Peach, CJ; Tu, NH; Lewis, PK; Pollard, RE; Sokrat, B; Nicholson, S; Trevett, K; Barrett, N; De Logu, F; Zhu, J; Latorre, R; Teng, S; Therien, MJ; Jensen, DD; Schmidt, BL; Bunnett, NW; Pinkerton, NM, Nanoparticle-mediated antagonism of sustained endosomal signaling of the calcitonin receptor-like receptor provides enhanced and persistent relief of oral cancer pain., Biomaterials, vol. 327 (April, 2026), pp. 123757 [doi]  [abs]
2. Zhu, J; Liu, R; Mansergh, JP; Ouyang, M; Pederson, LR; Bakanas, I; DeGrado, WF; Therien, MJ, Hydroxy-substituted electron deficient Pd porphyrin cofactors illuminate ultrafast proton transfer reactions., Journal of inorganic biochemistry, vol. 275 (February, 2026), pp. 113116 [doi]  [abs]
3. Alatis, JA; Stephenson, RH; Wilcox, AC; Mastrocinque, F; Widel, ZXW; Bullard, G; Li, E; Alatis, NR; Naquin, J; Bai, Y; Zhang, P; Beratan, DN; Therien, MJ, Driving Force Dependent Photoinduced Charge Transfer Dynamics in Polymer-Wrapped Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes., Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 147 no. 47 (November, 2025), pp. 43822-43830 [doi]  [abs]
4. Huang, X; Yuly, JL; Zhang, P; DeGrado, WF; Therien, MJ; Beratan, DN, Design of Light Driven Hole Bifurcating Proteins., ACS central science, vol. 11 no. 10 (October, 2025), pp. 1911-1920 [doi]  [abs]
5. Zhu, J; Widel, ZXW; Ko, C-H; Zhang, P; Beratan, DN; Therien, MJ, Highly Conjugated Porphyrin Arrays Enable Optical Resolution of Ferromagnetic and Antiferromagnetic Aligned States of the Triplet Exciton and an Incorporated Stable Radical., Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 147 no. 31 (August, 2025), pp. 27992-28001 [doi]  [abs]