The Overlooked Toolkit in Analytical Science

In this roundtable discussion focused on the experiences, challenges, and contributions of women in leadership, LCGC International spoke to Amandaa Brewer, Paola Tiedemann, Chelsea Plummer, and Jennifer Field. This dialogue explores what inspired our panelists to pursue careers in chromatography, the strategies that helped them advance in STEM, and the undervalued skills needed to make it in the field. We also discuss how mentorship and sponsorship and inclusive lab cultures are shaping the future for women in analytical chemistry.

Part VI of this conversation focuses on the skills that can be overlooked for a career in analytical science.

Amandaa K. Brewer received her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 2010 from Florida State University (FSU) and her BS in chemistry from Roanoke College in 2005. From 2011 to 2015, she worked at Tosoh Bioscience LLC, where she was first the GPC Technical Specialist and later advanced to the GPC Sales Support Leader. In 2015, Amandaa joined Arkema Inc., at their North America Research and Development site in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. She is currently a senior research scientist in the Analytical and Systems Research Group at Arkema and heads the Gel Permeation Chromatography Laboratory.

Paola Tiedemann is an associate professor of forensic science in the Department of Environmental Toxicology. She is also the director of the Institute for Forensic Science and leads her research team: the Forensic Analytical Chemistry & Odor Profiling Laboratory. Since arriving at TTU, she has served as the chair for over 30 graduate-level students. To date, she has published three books, four book chapters, and 45 peer-reviewed articles. Her research is geared at bridging interdisciplinary areas such as chemistry, canine odor detection, and national security to address issues critical to effective intelligence and defense capabilities. She has worked extensively on developing chromatographic methods for the identification and evaluation of odor volatiles from an array of different specimens of forensic and investigative relevance.

Chelsea Plummer is a principal product marketing manager at Waters Corporation with a background in bioanalytical mass spectrometry, specializing in small molecule and peptide analysis. At Waters for 9 years, she is now part of the sample preparation and automation team, leading product initiatives focused on solid-phase extraction (SPE) workflows to support pharmaceutical, food, and environmental applications.

Jennifer Field is currently the chromatographic lead and demonstration laboratory supervisor at Shimadzu UK’s Centre of Excellence in Milton Keynes. She completed her bachelor's in chemistry before going on to complete a research masters sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline. She then began a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) between the Open University and Hichrom on the development and commercialization of novel silanes for HPLC stationary phases, after which she became an application specialist at Hichrom. She returned to academia to gain her Ph.D. with the University of Strathclyde, sponsored by Novo Nordisk and based in Shimadzu UK, to investigate the peptide separation system by designing specific peptide probes to interrogate stationary phase and mobile phases retention mechanisms for maximum selectivity differences.