Dr. Jessica Prenni ’98

Dr. Jessica Prenni ’98 had a straightforward reason for attending Southern Oregon University (SOU) after graduating from Roosevelt High School in Portland. “I chose SOU for the in-state tuition and planned to major in pre-engineering, then transfer to Oregon State University in Corvallis,” Dr. Prenni explained. However, during her freshman year, she enjoyed her general chemistry class so much that she changed her major to chemistry, which allowed her to complete her degree at SOU.

She excelled in her chemistry courses, earning the distinction of Organic Chemistry Student of the Year. After completing a summer of undergraduate research in SOU’s chemistry department, she secured an internship at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, where she worked under Dr. Ed Espinoza. There, she gained hands-on experience with mass spectrometry. She also presented her research at both a professional Forensic Society meeting in Portland and a national American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco.  The summer between her junior and senior years, Jessica was awarded a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) fellowship, allowing her to conduct research in the chemistry department at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

Upon graduating the spring of 1998, she began her doctoral studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. “SOU prepared me exceptionally well for graduate school,” said Dr. Prenni. “We were doing things in undergrad that most students don’t encounter until graduate school.” After four years of hard work and research, she earned her PhD in Analytical Chemistry in 2002, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA.

After taking a year off to have her first child, Dr. Prenni joined Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, CO, where she served as Director of the Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility (a centralized university core facility) from 2006 to 2018. During this time, she established resources and training in biological mass spectrometry for the CSU research community and held a research professor position in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology where she established an independent research program and mentored numerous graduate students.

In 2018, Dr. Prenni transitioned within CSU to the College of Agricultural Sciences, where she is now a full professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. She is a leading expert in analytical chemistry and was recently included in Analytical Scientist Magazine Power List’s Top 100 and Top 25 Connectors and Interdisciplinarians.  She has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications and was recently named as a Nutrien Distinguished Scholar of Agricultural Sciences at CSU. Known for her collaborative approach and commitment to interdisciplinary science, she has dedicated her career to bridging the gap between analytical chemistry and biological applications. Recently, as part of the core team for the global Periodic Table of Food Initiative, she has played a key role in developing standardized analytical tools for food composition analysis.  As an educator, Dr. Prenni is committed to excellence in mentorship and enhancing the quality of graduate education at her institution. Outside of work, she enjoys cheering on her children at the ball field or skiing down Colorado’s mountains.

“The small size of the chemistry department at SOU was a supportive and close-knit community that enabled me to excel in my studies.  It also provided me with many unique opportunities to participate in research which nurtured my love for science and inspired me to continue my research journey in graduate school.”

Learn more:  Prenni Laboratory at CSU