Nashville, Tennessee Approved:

ii Dedicated to my parents, and to the memory of Grandpa Jackson and Jennie iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have been so very blessed with a wonderful and extensive support system throughout my graduate school years. I would like to thank the members of my thesis committee: Drs. Raymond Burk, F. Peter Guengerich, Lawrence Marnett, Raymond Mernaugh, and David Ong. Thank you for all your suggestions and support throughout these last five years. You have helped me stay on track, commit to attainable goals, and tolerated a major change in my thesis project, all the while having to deal with my high-speed presentations. For all of these things, I am grateful. I must thank my thesis advisor, Jennifer Pietenpol. As many have sai