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Professional Background:
Education: |
| 1991 |
Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of North Carolina
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| 1980 |
MS. in Chemistry, Bowling Green State University
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| 1978 |
BS in Chemistry, Bowling Green State University
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| Postdoctoral training: |
1998-1999
1996-1998
1993 - 1996
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University of North Carolina Chapel Hill , Pharmacology Dr. John Sondek - Structural Biology of RGS Proteins
Biotechnology Research Institiute, Montreal Canada Dr. Mirek Cygler - Structural Biology of Bcl-2
Glaxo Inc. Dr. Steven Jordan - Structures of Peptide Nucleic Acid - DNA triple helices
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| Faculty Positions: |
| 1999-Present |
Research Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina |
Research Interest(s):
I am involved in several projects at UNC. One of these is the Structural Biology of G protein signaling. In this regard I am part of a Program Project Grant (T. Kendall Harden, P.I) of which one of the sub-projects is a "Protein Core (Dr. Janeen Vanhooke & Dr. John Sondek)" whose mission is to facilitate structural biology (high-level expression, crystallization, and single crystal diffraction) for all the other projects. I have in the past been involved in a collaboration with researchers in the UNC Biology Department (Jeffrey Dangl) to carry out Structural Biology studies of virulence factors from pathogenic bacteria which infect plants. I have collaborations with a number of researchers in a variety of departments in which I facilitate their use of X-ray crystallography as a tool (Dr. Susan Lord, Pathology, Dr. Vytas Bankaitis, Cell & Developmental Biology, Drs. Jim Anderson & Christina VanItallie Cell & Molecular Physiology, Dr. Christopher Elkins (Medicine). Recently, both the Elkins and Anderson labs have crystallized INTEGRAL MEMBRANE PROTEINS!!!!
Recent Results:
Alex Singer and I, in our collaboration including John Sondek & Jeffrey Dangl of the Biology Department recently solved the structures of three new bacterial virulence factors from P. Syringae which infects plants in the same way that, for example Yersinia pestis infects human cells. One of these is a protein of unknown function (AvrPphF orf2), another is the chaperone for the first (AvrPphF orf1), and the third is a known cysteine protease, AvrPphB. THese are very exciting results and are the cornerstone of a strong collaborative effort between the two labs which we anticipate will yield many more structures of these virulence factors in the future, and help to elucidate the signaling pathways in plants that are targeted by the pathogen.
UNC-CH Collaborators:
- John Sondek, Alex Singer, Kendall Harden, and David Siderovski; UNC Department of Pharmacology: Structural Biology of G protein signaling
- Jeffrey Dangl & Sarah Grant; UNC Dept. of Biology: Bacterial Virulence Factors
- Robert Bourret; UNC Department of Microbiology & Immunology
- Susan Lord & Michael Kostelansky: Human Fibrinogen mutants and their implications for clotting.
- Chris Elkins; UNC Department of Medicine: Hemoglobin Receptor from H.ducreyi
- Tina VanItallie & Jim Anderson; UNC Department of Cell & Molecular Physiology: Claudin
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