Craig Streu
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Craig Streu is a Professor of Biochemistry and the Director of EPIIC Fellows at Albion College. An Albion alumnus, Dr. Streu returned to the college to teach a wide variety of coursework, ranging from Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry to Medicinal Chemistry and Public Health . Beyond the classroom, he is deeply committed to experiential education and professional development, serving in leadership roles for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), including a tenure as Regional Director of Student Chapters.
Dr. Streu leads an active research group specializing in drug design and discovery, with a particular emphasis on photopharmacology—the development of therapeutic agents that can be controlled by light. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Petroleum Research Fund, and the Royal Society of Chemistry . An award-winning educator, Dr. Streu consistently integrates research into the undergraduate curriculum, having mentored over 80 student presentations and frequently publishing with undergraduate co-authors .
Education
- B.A., 2004, Albion College
- Ph.D. 2009, University of Pennsylvania
Courses
- HSP: Making Medicine – Shaping the Profession
- Chem 154: Organic Structure & Reactivity
- Chem 212: Organic Chemistry – Mechanism & Synthesis
- Chem 278: Biochemistry/ Chemistry Research
- Chem 289: Biochemistry/ Chemistry Research Laboratory
- Chem 301: Chemical Energetics & Kinetics
- Chem 337: Biochemistry
- Chem 351: Biophysical Chemistry
- Chem 352: Medicinal Chemistry
- Chem 378: Biochemistry/ Chemistry Research
- Chem 379: Biochemistry/ Chemistry Research
Publications
- Makowski, E. K., Kinnunen, P. C., Huang, J., Wu, L., Smith, M. D., Wang, T., Desai, A. A., Streu, C. N., Zhang, Y., Zupancic, J. M., Schardt, J. S., Linderman, J. J., Tessier, P. M. “Co-optimization of therapeutic antibody affinity and specificity using machine learning models that generalize to novel mutational space.” Nature Communications, 2022, 13, 3788.
- Rastogi, S. J., Zhao, Z., Barrett, S. L., Shelton, S. D., Zafferani, M., Anderson, H. E., Blumenthal, M. O., Jones, L. R., Wang, L., Li, X., Streu, C. N., Du, L., Brittain, W. J. “Photoresponsive azo-combretastatin A-4 analogues.” European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2018, 143, 1-7.
- Engdahl, A. J., Torres, E. A., Lock, S. A., Engdahl, T. B., Mertz, P. S., Streu, C. N. “Synthesis, characterization, and bioactivity of the photoisomerizable tubulin polymerization inhibitor azo-combretastatin A4.” Organic Letters, 2015, 17(18), 4546-4549.