Skip Navigation

Karen M. Schaich, Sc. D.

Research Areas

Chemistry: EPR studies of free radical intermediates and their reactions, particularly of lipids; metal-lipid and chelator-lipid interactions; co-oxiations of proteins and nucleic acids by oxidizing lipids; mechanisms of initiations; electrochemistry of protic versus aprotic lipids; metal and heme catalysis; phase effects (aqueous versus lipid versus mixed) on kinetics and mechanisms; development of supercritical fluid extractions of lipids; free radical chemistry of natural antioxidants; stability of medium chain triglycerides and structured lipids.

Biochemistry: factors affecting oxidative stability of membranes, cells, and tissues; cellular repair of oxidative damage; lipids and signal transduction under oxidative stress; relationships of heme protein, transferrin, and ferrin to lipid oxidation in living cells and in muscle tissue post-slaughter

Food Science: EPR studies of free radicals in foods; lipid free radical versus lipid oxidation product interactions with proteins and carbohydrates in the oxidative deteriorations of foods; relationships of phase metal, and moisture to lipid oxidation in foods; free radical chemistry of natural phenolic antioxidants; natural photosensitizers; design of new phase-specific chelators and antioxidantsfor use in foods; development of methods for demetalling food oils and for recovering useable fractions of abused, heated oils; heme and metal catalysis of oxidations in muscle foods; free radical chemistry of proteins and starches in extruded products; development of new HPLC and chemiluminescence analyses of lipid oxidation; supercritical fluid extraction of lipids from low-lipid food products; fat substitutes

Toxicology and Medicne: lipid co-oxidation of proteins and nucleic acids in oxidative cytotoxicity, disease, and cancer; heme and metal catalysis of lipid oxidation in vivo; detectoin and accurate measurement of early stages of lipid oxidation in tissues and in vivo; free fatty acids, metals, and lipid oxication in myelindegenerative diseases.

Nutrition: effect of dietary lipid and pro- or anti- oxidants on oxidative stablility of membranes; effect of diet on response to oxidative stress; toxicity of dietary oxidized lipids.