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Farquhar Honors College
Associate Professor - Chemistry
Halmos College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Jessica Brown is an associate professor for the Department of Chemistry and Physics, specializing in analytical chemistry. She received her B.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry at Florida International University. Her doctoral research focused on evaluating the odor profile of biological specimens from human subjects for identification purposes. In 2012, she accepted a postdoc with the United States Army Research Office, where she traveled to South Africa to explore the sensing capabilities of African elephants to explosive odors. In 2013, she began working as a chemical instrumentation specialist at Nova Southeastern University and was later hired as an assistant professor. While at NSU, Dr. Brown has supervised projects for over 20 undergraduate researchers, including two who completed an Honors Thesis, on projects ranging from the identification of volatile biomarkers for periodontal disease to assessing the stability of vitamin D in fish after gamma irradiation. Additionally, she encourages all her students to present their research at local and national conferences, with ten of them presenting posters at American Chemical Society meetings.
HONR 2900 Champagne and Perfume, the Scents of France
Dr. Brown's research primarily focuses on the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS), with applications in forensic science, bacterial disease diagnosis, and the identification of aromas from flowers. Recently, she began collaborating on a project assessing the stability of vitamin D and polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish after exposure to gamma irradiation.