The research interests of the Lim lab lie in the broad field of bioinorganic chemistry and chemical biology as it interfaces with biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, and neuroscience. Our research objectives are to (a) identify how metal-involved biological networks composed of proteins, neurotransmitters, and mediators for oxidative stress and inflammation are linked to dementia, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (AD and PD); (b) establish new directions for developing chemical reagents as tools, diagnostics, and therapeutics for such diseases. These goals can be accomplished through (i) elucidating the complicated and inter-communicated pathogenesis of dementia at the molecular level; (ii) designing small molecule-based or protein-based reagents as chemical tools through understanding of the complicated networks among metals, various proteins, and/or other molecules (i.e., neurotransmitters), and as multi-tasking diagnostics or therapeutics. Students in the Lim lab have been engaging in synthetic chemistry (organic and inorganic syntheses), physical methods (NMR, EPR, IR, CD, and UV-vis spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography), as well as biochemical and biological techniques (biochemical assays, mammalian cell culture/analysis, and in vivo investigations).