Dr. McCurdy earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech in 1995, and joined the faculty in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Cal State LA in 2002. She taught organic chemistry, general chemistry, advanced chemistry electives, and general education courses in the areas of Lifelong Learning and Natural Sciences. Her research interests center on photoresponsive organic molecules that mimic key biological calcium signals and on chemistry education. As principal investigator, she has co-authored 7 peer-reviewed articles with undergraduate and graduate students. Her work has been supported by NIH, NSF, and CSUPERB to support collaborations with students.
Dr. McCurdy has been very active in university service and leadership roles on campus. She chaired curriculum/educational policy committees on the department, college, and university levels, and served on the Senate Executive Committee. She was the Department Chair of Chemistry & Biochemistry from 2016-2019 and joined the Honors College as Associate Director from 2019-2022. During that time, Dr. McCurdy created and implemented an Inclusive Leadership Development Program and oversaw recruitment, admissions, advising, scholarships, community engagement, and Honors College Thesis requirements. Dr. McCurdy has been serving as an Associate Dean in the College of Natural and Social Sciences since 2023, after a yearlong interim appointment.