Degrees:

Ph.D., University of Cincinnati; B.S., The Ohio State University

Expertise:

Сhemistry, nursing chemistry, biochemistry, environmental chemistry and various seminar courses

Biography:

I chose to spend my career at the Mount because I love the spirit of this place. The legacy of the Sisters of Charity heritage and our founder’s desire to do good in the world for others was, and still is, a profoundly inspiring message. I teach science and in doing so I also play a role in helping young people figure out their path. Advising, teaching, sharing science, organizing information, conducting research that involves students, measuring learning – all pieces of my job description that come together to indicate one thing – ask me to help you understand something or to gain confidence in your scientific abilities, and I will do my best to make it so.

Research Interests:


  • My research into understanding how homeodomain proteins bind DNA sites.
  • The scholarship of teaching and learning – using GFP site directed mutagenesis to teach structure function relationships to undergraduates.
  • My upcoming sabbatical exploring the intersection of biochemistry and water quality testing at the Greater Cincinnati Water Works.
  • The scholarship of assessment, assignment design and the use of Blackboard outcomes for university-wide assessment.

Interesting News:

As a woman in science, I know how important it can be to have a mentor and now to serve as a mentor to future scientists. I am a mother of three young sons and have great empathy for those that have to balance many obstacles they might face along their path. If you are coming from a potentially underserved population and have questions about pursuing a scientific degree please don’t hesitate to contact me – I have special interest in trying to help!

Publications:

  • Baird-Titus JM, Thapa M, Doerdelmann T, Combs KA, Rance M. Lysine Side-Chain Dynamics in the Binding Site of Homeodomain/DNA Complexes As Observed by NMR Relaxation Experiments and Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Biochemistry. 2018 May 15;57(19):2796-2813. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00195. Epub 2018 Apr 30. PMID: 29664630.
  • Doerdelmann T, Kojetin DJ, Baird-Titus JM, Rance M. 1H, 13C and 15N chemical shift assignments for the human Pitx2 homeodomain and a R24H homeodomain mutant. Biomol NMR Assign. 2011 Apr;5(1):105-7. doi: 10.1007/s12104-010-9278-x. Epub 2010 Nov 4. PMID: 21052876; PMCID: PMC3111450.
  • Doerdelmann T, Kojetin DJ, Baird-Titus JM, Solt LA, Burris TP, Rance M. Structural and biophysical insights into the ligand-free Pitx2 homeodomain and a ring dermoid of the cornea inducing homeodomain mutant. Biochemistry. 2012 Jan 17;51(2):665-76. doi: 10.1021/bi201639x. Epub 2012 Jan 6. PMID: 22224469; PMCID: PMC3264736.
  • Baird-Titus JM, Clark-Baldwin K, Dave V, Caperelli CA, Ma J, Rance M. The solution structure of the native K50 Bicoid homeodomain bound to the consensus TAATCC DNA-binding site. J Mol Biol. 2006 Mar 10;356(5):1137-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2005.12.007. Epub 2005 Dec 22. PMID: 16406070.
  • Doerdelmann T, Kojetin DJ, Baird-Titus JM, Rance M. ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N chemical shift assignments for the human Pitx2 homeodomain in complex with a 22-base hairpin DNA. Biomol NMR Assign. 2012 Apr;6(1):79-81. doi: 10.1007/s12104-011-9329-y. Epub 2011 Aug 5. PMID: 21818549; PMCID: PMC3264750.