photo by Rhonda Cosentino
Daniel Baker and Abby Parrill-Baker
DYNAMIC DUOS Our series of profiles of married couples who teach at the University of Memphis continues with Daniel Baker and Abby Parrill-Baker. Baker is an associate professor of chemistry; ParrillBaker is associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of chemistry.
on understanding the role of specific proteins (enzymes and receptors) in human disease. These projects have allowed us to co-mentor a number of undergraduate and graduate students.
How did you two meet?
Yes. We constantly give each other advice. We have very different approaches to nearly everything we do. This has often been a strength of our collaborations, as we don’t generally attack a problem in the same way. Our differing approaches usually allow for discussion of multiple ways to address an issue. Since we have very different writing styles, joint manuscripts usually bounce from style to style with the last editor usually getting his or her way.
We met as undergraduates at Central Michigan University in the fall of 1988. We were both chemistry majors enrolled in an honors section of general chemistry. The pastor who officiated at our wedding in 1995 had quite a bit of fun with that knowledge. Did you come to the UofM together? No. Abby joined the UofM faculty in the fall of 1998, whereas Dan was both a postdoctoral fellow and then assistant professor at UTHSC before joining the UofM in the fall of 2006. Do your areas of teaching/research ever intersect? Yes. Abby is a computational biochemist and Dan is a bioanalytical chemist. In the recent past we have both taught foundational level courses in organic chemistry (and team-taught one course). Although we have our own research programs, we also have several overlapping projects focused W W W. M E M P H I S . E D U
Do you give each other advice? If so, is it generally accepted?
What is it like to work at the same university? Our research collaboration is stronger because we are in the same department. Our students share lab spaces and reagents, for example. Since many of our projects overlap, we hold joint lab meetings so that more and diverse expertise can be brought to problem solving. What are your proudest achievements?
with the tremendous individual our daughter Lindsey has become. Professionally, I’m proud every time a former student tells me about being admitted to or graduating from medical, pharmacy or graduate school. It is tremendously gratifying to see what our students become. Abby: I have to agree with Dan on the pride I have in our daughter – she’s truly a remarkable young lady. Professionally, I take pride in building an inclusive and supportive environment for student training, both within my research group and within my classrooms. I really value seeing the young people I mentor and teach achieve more than they thought they could. Outside of work, do you share many of the same interests or do you have varied pursuits? Dan: For the most part, we have varied interests. I am an amateur numismatist and Abby does intricate needlepoint. However, we both serve on the board of directors of the PRIZM Ensemble. PRIZM’s mission is to build a diverse community though chamber music education, youth development and performance. We are very proud of the impact PRIZM’s programs have had on Memphis youth.
Dan: My proudest accomplishment has nothing to do with my career but has everything to do FA L L 2 016
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