Education:

ORISE/NIH PRAT Postdoctoral Fellow, 2009-2013, CBER-FDA
Ph.D., Biochemistry, University of Delaware, 2009
B.S., Biochemistry, Rowan University, 2003

Research Interests:

Glycobiology, enzymology, protein structure-function relationships, carbohydrate biosynthesis, chemoenzymatic synthesis, carbohydrate-based materials, vaccine development, bioremediation. The research focus of the McCarthy Group is to develop a better understanding of the biochemistry of carbohydrate-producing enzymes from the bacterial pathogen Neisseria meningitidis. Our goal is to use these enzymes as potential synthetic tools for vaccine production and bioremediation applications.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=r0keajkAAAAJ

Research Websites:  http://pumtiwittmccarthy.edublogs.org/; https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pumtiwitt_Mccarthy

Current Funding:        

• Mechanistic Studies of a Bacterial Capsule Polymerase (NIH/NIGMS) - Role: Principal Investigator

• Bacterial Polysaccharides for Heavy Metal Capture (MSU Office of Technology Transfer) - Role: Principal Investigator

• Course Redesign for CHEM 304 Biochemistry I (NIH/MSU ASCEND) - Role: Principal Investigator

Selected Publications (h-index 9,  i10-index 9, citations: 356):

• J.L. Malisch, B.N. Harris, S.M. Sherrer, K.A. Lewis, S.L. Shepherd, P.C. McCarthy, J.L. Spott, E.P. Karam, N. Moustaid-Moussa, J.M. Calarco, L. Ramalingham, A.E. Talley, J.E. Canas-Carrell, K. Ardon-Dryer, D.A. Weiser, X.E. Bernal and J. Deitloff. Reply to Arora et al.: Concerns and considerations about using the CV as an equity tool. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 117, 24033
• J.L. Malisch, B.N. Harris, S.M. Sherrer, K.A. Lewis, S.L. Shepherd, P.C. McCarthy, J.L. Spott, E.P. Karam, N. Moustaid-Moussa, J.M. Calarco, L. Ramalingham, A.E. Talley, J.E. Canas-Carrell, K. Ardon-Dryer, D.A. Weiser, X.E. Bernal and J. Deitloff. 2020. Opinion: In the wake of COVID-19, academia needs new solutions to ensure gender equity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 117, 15378
• P.C. McCarthy, R. Williams, C. Hughes-Darden, R. Ellington, P. Mayaka, M. Jackson, A. Nkwanta Using Molecular Visualization as a Tool for Culturally Competent and Culturally Relevant Teaching: A Guided-Inquiry Biochemistry Activity. Journal of Computational Science Education 2020, 11, 2
• A. Sharyan, C. Gonzalez, O. Ukaegbu, K. Powell, P.C. McCarthy. Determination of the binding affinities of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W capsule polymerase with two nucleotide sugar substrates. BMC Research Notes 2018 11, 425
• S. Ghimire and P.C. McCarthy. Capture of Pb2+ and Cu2+ Metal Cations by Neisseria meningitidis-type Capsular Polysaccharides. Biomolecules 2018 8, 23
• P.C. McCarthy, A. Sharyan, L. Sheikhi Moghaddam. Meningococcal Vaccines: Current Status and Emerging Strategies. Vaccines 2018 6, 12
• P.T. Wilder, D.J. Weber, A. Winstead, S. Parnell, T.V. Hinton, M. Stevenson, D. Giri, S. Azemati, P. Olczak, B.V. Powell, T. Odebode, S. Tadesse, Y. Zhang, S.K. Pramanik, J.M. Wachira, S. Ghimire, P. McCarthy, A. Barfield, H.N. Banerjee, C. Chen, J.A. Golen, A.L. Rheingold, J.A. Krause, D.M. Ho, P.Y. Zavalij, R. Shaw, S.K. Mandal. Unprecedented anticancer activities of organorhenium sulfonato and carboxylato complexes against hormone-dependent MCF-7 and hormone-independent triple-negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 2018 441, 151
• K.M. Muindi, P.C. McCarthy, T. Wang, J. Vionnet, M. Battistel, E. Jankowska, and W.F. Vann. Characterization of the Meningococcal Serogroup X Capsule N-Acetylglucosamine-1-Phosphotransferase, Glycobiology 2014 24, 139
• P. C. McCarthy, R. Saksena, D.C. Peterson, C.H. Lee, Y. An, J.F. Cipollo, and W.F. Vann. Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Immunogenic Meningococcal Group C Polysialic AcidTetanus Hc Fragment Glycoconjugates, Glycocon. J. 2013 30, 857
• D.C. Peterson, J. Vionnet, G. Arakere, P.C. McCarthy, and W.F. Vann. Characterization and acceptor specificity of a soluble meningococcal group C polysialyltransferase, J. Bacteriol. 2011 193, 1576
• S.L. Mosley, P.C. Rancy, D.C. Peterson, J. Vionnet, R. Saksena and W.F. Vann. Chemoenzymatic synthesis of conjugatable oligosialic acids, Biocat. and Biotrans. 2010 28, 1