Amanda Bryant-Friedrich

Byrant-Friedrich was born in Enfield, North Carolina.[1] She is the daughter of a farmer and, alongside her education in the Halifax County School system, worked on the family farm. She graduated high school as the Valedictorian, and decided to attend university.[1] Whilst she was offered a full academic scholarship at Duke University, she was encouraged by her guidance counsellor to attend North Carolina Central University. She eventually earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry at North Carolina Central University, where she worked in the laboratory of John Meyers.[1] She became increasingly interested in scientific research and spent a summer holiday as an intern at Dow Chemical Company.[1] She eventually graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. She moved to Duke University for her graduate studies, and spent two years trying to prove to the department that she would be able to complete a PhD. She eventually earned a master's degree in the Department of Chemistry and began her doctoral research with Richard Polniaszek. Six months after starting, Polniaszek left the university, leaving Byrant-Friedrich to find a new project.[1] In 1993, after several weeks of German lessons, Byrant-Friedrich moved to Heidelberg University for her doctoral research. She worked on organic chemistry under the supervision of Richard Neidlein and completed her PhD in 1997.[2] Her doctoral research involved the synthesis of complex aromatic compounds.

In 1997 Byrant-Friedrich joined the research laboratory of Bernd Giese at the University of Basel as a postdoctoral fellow.[1] Here she became interested in the use of organic chemistry as a means to study biological mechanisms.[1] After spending two years in Switzerland, Byrant-Friedrich moved back to the United States. She enjoyed her time in Europe, and has said that whilst in Germany and Switzerland she experienced less racial bias than she did during her time in America.[1] On returning to the States Bryant-Friedrich first worked at Wayne State University, but when it became obvious that she would not be awarded a tenure-track position, she looked for other options.

Byrant-Friedrich joined Oakland University as an Assistant Professor in 2000. She was awarded an National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2003, which allowed her to study the chemical processes that damage DNA and RNA.[3] She moved to the University of Toledo in 2007.

She studies the mechanisms by which small molecules interact with nucleic acid. Her research involves the synthesis of modified nucleosides and nucleotides, monitoring the intercalation of small aromatic systems into DNA via the design of novel chromophores and the creation of probes that contain nucleic acids to study events that occur around DNA. She has studied the protection of small nuclear RNA (snRNAs) from oxidative damage, which typically damages cells.[4] As snRNA is essential for the function of spliceosome, this type of damage can impact the structure and function of the spliceosome.