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Saccomanno awarded PhD position at Purdue University

| January 14, 2025 1:00 AM

Dr. Linda Lee, a Distinguished Professor at Purdue University, recruited Sandpoint resident Sage Saccomanno for her PhD program in environmental and ecological engineering with a concentration in ecological sciences in engineering. 

An SHS class of 2020 graduate, Saccomanno recently completed her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Bard College in Annandale-on-the-Hudson, N.Y., this past May. Sage was heavily involved in the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities, varsity sports, chemical research, and her company Bigger Brain. She is pursuing both her master's and doctorate in environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

For two years at Bard, Sage studied how Cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug, interacts with RNA in RNA-DNA hybrid structures. These findings, published in December 2023, could have important implications for drug design and therapies targeting RNA.

For her senior project, she investigated if Ruthenium (II) metal centers could present promising candidates for novel inorganic anticancer treatments. Results indicated significant potential for phenformin and metformin-based drugs to inhibit DHFR enzymatic activity effectively, offering promise as future anticancer therapies. More than likely this will also be published soon.

Sage was awarded the 2023 Harold Griffiths '31 Award for Excellence in Chemistry. She also received the Cristina R. Tarsell Athletic Award, presented to a female student who exemplifies outstanding sportsmanship and dedicated service to the Bard athletic program.

Sage's upcoming research focuses on understanding how PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), or “forever chemicals” as they’re more well known, move and change in the environment, which helps develop methods to clean them up. This work will be used to create tools and guidelines for managing contamination in industrial, governmental, residential and agricultural settings.

Sage hopes to return to the Sandpoint area in the future to mentor local students to pursue careers in scientific research. Through sharing her experiences and knowledge, she hopes to inspire young people to explore science, achieve their goals in the field and build rewarding, well-paying careers that allow them to stay and contribute to our local area.