Christy Haynes

Haynes was born in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1977.[1] She completed her undergraduate work at Macalester College, in 1998 with a major in Chemistry and minors in Mathematics and Spanish. She completed her postbaccalaureate work at Northwestern University completing a master's degree in 1999 and a Ph.D. in 2003 under the direction of Richard P. Van Duyne. She also earned a Post Doctorate at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2005.[2] Her dissertation, "Fundamentals and Applications of Nanoparticle Optics and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering," demonstrated how Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy could be used as a small molecule biosensor.[3][4] She was awarded the Northwestern University prize for Excellence in Graduate Research in 2002.[5] She has described Hilary Godwin, then Professor at Northwestern University, as one of her influences.[6]

After her PhD, Haynes worked with Mark Wightman as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[7] Here she worked on microelectrode amperometry to study single-cell exocytosis.[7] Haynes joined the University of Minnesota in 2005 as an assistant professor.[8] Her lab, the Haynes Research Group, apply analytical chemistry and nanomaterials to biomedicine, ecology and toxicology.[9] Nanoparticles are increasingly being used in manufacturing, which will result in them ending up in the ecosystem with unknown consequences.[10][11] The Haynes group look to determine the molecular design rules for nanoparticle toxicity, through material design and fabrication and characterisation both in the lab and in the food web.[11][12][13] They characterise chemical messenger synthesis and exocytosis using laser spectroscopy and microelectrochemistry.[7] In 2012 her group were the first ever to successfully isolate individual blood platelets.[14][15] In 2013 her research was discussed on Minnesota Public Radio.[16] She was promoted to full professor in 2014, became the Elmore H. Northey Professor of Chemistry in 2015, and is currently the associate Head of Department of Chemistry.[9] She has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles in scientific papers.[17]

In 2017 she delivered a TED talk, "Nanomaterials are everwhere; how do we make them safe?".[18][19] In 2018 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, which enables her to work in the Technical University of Valencia characterising nanomaterials in an environmental matrix.[20][21] Haynes was also named in The Analytical Scientist Power List in 2019.[22] She is a lead presenter for the University of Minnesota Energy and U program, which brings over ten thousand third grade students to her campus each year.[21] Haynes is an advocate for increased diversity in the chemical sciences.[23] She takes part in outreach activities to encourage young people to consider careers in chemistry.[24]

• 2002 Presidential Fellowship from Northwestern University[25]
• 2003 Award for Excellence in Graduate Research from Northwestern University[25]
• 2004 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health[25]
• 2005 Victor K. LaMer Award from the American Chemical Society Division of Colloid and Surface Science[25]
• 2005 Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry from the American Chemical Society[25]
• 2006 3M Nontenured Faculty Award[25]
• 2006 Kinship Foundation Searle Scholar[26]
• 2006 National Science Foundation CAREER Award[25]
• 2007 Delegate for Japan-U.S. Young Researchers Exchange on Nanotechnology[25]
• 2007-2009 University of Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Assistant Professor [25]
• 2008 National Institutes of Health New Innovator[27]
• 2009 Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar[25]
• 2009 Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry Young Investigator[28]
• 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Fellow[29]
• 2010 Arthur F. Findeis Award for Achievements by a Young Analytical Scientist from the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry[25]
• 2011 Royal Society of Chemistry Joseph Black Award[30]
• 2012 Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award[25]
• 2013 Kavli Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry Lecture[31]
• 2014 University of Minnesota Taylor Award for Distinguished Research[32]
• 2015 University of Minnesota Sara Evans Faculty Woman Scholar/Leader Award[33]
• 2015 Advising and Mentoring Award from the University of Minnesota Graduate and Professional Student Assembly[25]
• 2016 The Analytical Scientist’s 2016 Power List of top 50 talented women scientists[34]
• 2017 Institute on the Environment Fellow[35]
• 2018 Royal Society of Chemistry Theophilus Redwood Award[9]
• 2018 Coblentz Society Craver Award[36]
• 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship[20]
• 2019 Distinguished McKnight University Professor[25]