Dr. Ryszard Jankowiak

Professor

M.S. (Physics) Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznan, Poland) (1974)
Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics, Technical University of Gdansk (Poland) (1981)

Positions and Employment
1976-80 Assistant and Senior Instructor at Technical University, Institute of Physics, Gdansk, Poland
1981 Assistant Professor, Technical University, Institute of Physics, Gdansk, Poland
1981 Visiting Professor, Department of Physics, Camerino University, Camerino, Italy
1981-84 Postdoctoral Fellow (with Professor H. Bässler), Physical Chemistry, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany

1984-85 Associate Professor (Gast Dozent) at Philipps University (Physical Chemistry), Marburg, Germany
1985-87 Postdoctoral Fellow (with Professor Gerald J. Small), Ames Laboratory USDOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
1988-89 Associate Scientist, Ames Laboratory USDOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
1990-1998 Scientist, Ames Laboratory USDOE, Chemical and Biological Sciences Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
1999-2005 Senior Scientist, Ames Laboratory USDOE, Chemical and Biological Sciences Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
2002-2005 Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Email: ryszard@ksu.edu
Office Phone: 785-532-6785
Lab Phone: 785-532-1864
Fax: 785-532-6666

Jankowiak Group

Job Openings for Postdoctoral Students

Research Overview

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Energy and electron transfer in natural and artificial photosynthetic complexes at low temperatures and high pressures; hole-burning spectroscopy and structural disorder in glasses, polymers, and proteins; photovoltaic devices; single photosynthetic complex spectroscopy; chemical carcinogenesis; carcinogen metabolism and DNA damage; monoclonal antibody-hapten interactions; and laser-based bioanalytical spectroscopies.

Current research areas include:

• Photosynthesis research

We study complex biological systems including photosynthetic reaction centers and photosynthetic antenna pigment complexes of green plants/algae and photosynthetic bacteria using solid-state low temperature (laser-based) spectroscopies, i.e. fluorescence line-narrowing spectroscopy (FLNS), hole-burning spectroscopy (HBS), and single photosynthetic complex spectroscopy (SPCS). The combination of HBS on bulk samples and SPCS is a powerful frequency domain approach for obtaining data that can address a number of issues that are key to understanding excitonic structure and energy transfer dynamics. The long-term goal is to reach a better understanding of the ultrafast solar energy driven primary events of photosynthesis as they occur in higher plants, cyanobacteria, purple bacteria, and green algae and to integrate natural and artificial photosynthetic complexes with molecular photovoltaic devices. A better understanding of the excitation energy transfer (EET) and charge separation (CS) processes taking place in photosynthetic complexes is of great interest, since photosynthetic complexes might offer attractive architectures for a future generation of circuitry in which proteins are organized by a macromolecular scaffold. This type of research is of potential importance for the future design of more efficient solar energy conversion devices.

• R. Jankowiak and G. J. Small, “Hole Burning Spectroscopy: Dynamics of Amorphous Solids at Low Temperatures”, Science, 1987, 237, 618.

• R. Jankowiak et al.,"Spectral Hole Burning Spectroscopy in Amorphous Molecular Solids and Proteins," Chemical Reviews, 1993, 93, 1471.

• Riley, K. et al. “Evidence for Highly Dispersive Primary Charge Separation Kinetics and Gross Heterogeneity in the Isolated PS II Reaction Center of Green Plants”, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2004, 108(29), 10346.

• Cancer research

We are developing clinically useful biomarker-technologies for cancer risk assessment. We use high resolution laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, various separation techniques, and optical biosensors to arrive at a firm, molecular-level understanding of the mutagenic and tumorigenic activity of carcinogens (whether endogenous or extrinsic) initiated by DNA adduct formation. The major goals of our research, which are related to the carcinogenic activity of metabolites formed from estrogens and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are: 1) development of monoclonal antibody-gold biosensor chips for detection and quantitation of biomarkers produced by covalent binding of catechol estrogen and PAH metabolites to DNA; 2) characterization and determination of DNA adducts formed from selected catechol estrogen quinones (CEQ) in urine of breast and prostrate cancer patients, and 3) development of microfluidic devices with amperometric detection. The catechol estrogens of particular interest are 4-hydroxyestrone and 4-hydroxyestradiol because they are potentially powerful endogenous carcinogens. CEQ derived DNA adducts have been already observed in urine of breast and prostate cancer patients (see refs below). It is anticipated that detection of the estrogen derived biomarkers could be used for early breast and prostate cancer risk assessment.

• Jankowiak, R., et al. “The Role of Fluorescence Line-Narrowing Spectroscopy and Related Luminescence-Based Techniques in the Elucidation of Mechanisms of Tumor Initiation by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Estrogens” J. Phys. Chem. B, 2004, 108, 10266.

• Cavalieri, E., et al., “Catechol estrogen quinones as initiators of breast and other human cancers: Implications for biomarkers of susceptibility and cancer prevention”, BBA-Reviews on Cancer 2006, 1766: 63.

• Markushin, Y., et al., “Potential Biomarker for Early Risk Assessment of Prostate Cancer”, The Prostate, 2006, 66, 1565.

Selected Recent Publications:

• Sigl, A.; Orrit, M.; Reinot, T.; Jankowiak, R.; Friedrich J. “Terrylene in hexadecane revisited: a hole burning study,” J. Chem. Phys. 2007, 127(8), 084510.

• Zazubovich, V.; Jankowiak, R. “On the Energy Transfer between Quasi-Degenerate States with Uncorrelated Site Distribution Functions: An Application to the CP43 Complex of Photosystem II,” J. Lum. 2007, 127, 245.

• K.J. Riley, T. Reinot, R. Jankowiak, T.-M. Hsin, P. Fromme, and V. Zazubovich, “Red Antenna States of Photosystem I from Cyanobacteria Synechocystis PCC6803 and Thermosynechococcus elongatus: Single-Complex Spectroscopy and Spectral Hole-Burning Study”, J. Phys. Chem. B 2007, 111, 286.

• N.C. Dang, T. Reinot, M. Reppert, and R. Jankowiak, “Temperature Dependence of Hole growth Kinetics in Aluminum-Phthalocyanine-Tetrasulphonate in Hyper-quenched Glassy Water”, J. Phys. Chem. B 2007,111(7), 1582.

• Dawoud, A.; Kawaguchi, T.; Jankowiak, R. “In-channel modification of electrochemical detector for the detection of bio-targets on microchip,”    Electrochemistry Communications 2007, 9(7), 1536.

• Miksa, B; Chinnappan, R. Dang, N.C.; Reppert, M.; Tretyakova, N.; Grubor, N.M.; Jankowiak, R.   Spectral differentiation and immunoaffinity capillary electrophoresis separation of enantiomeric benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide-derived DNA adducts.  Chem. Res.  in Toxicology 2007, 20(8), 1192.

• Dawoud, A.; Kawaguchi, T.; Jankowiak, R. “Integrated microfluidic device with an electroplated palladium decoupler for more sensitive amperometric detection of the 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) DNA adduct,” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 2007, 388(1), 245.