University of Georgia
Structure and function of enzymes involved in plant polysaccharide biosynthesis and modification with the long term goal to develop pathway engineering or targeted genomics approaches for enhanced production of bio-materials, -products, and -fuels.
Effects of pathological stress on cells of the peripheral nervous system and the adrenal gland. In vitro disease modeling using human pluripotent stem cells.
Metabolomic approaches applied to drug target selection and validation in human pathogens; discovery and development of new chemotherapeutic interventions.
Website
Course-based undergraduate research, student integration into the
scientific community; research mentoring of undergraduate researchers.
Investigating the regulatory mechanisms of glycosylation using genomic, chemical, and genetic approaches with particular focus on the discovery of novel drugs and targets to treat human diseases.
Role of glycosylation in regulating Notch signaling, assisting protein folding, and development.
Metabolomics and systems biology of Caenorhabditis elegans using NMR,
mass spec, and computational approaches.
Oxygen- and glycosylation-dependent regulation of polyubiquitin ligases in Dictyostelium and Toxoplasma gondii; Glycobiology of protozoa.
Enzymes involved in amino acid, especially tryptophan, metabolism which may be drug targets for cancer, hypertension and neurodegenerative diseases.
My research investigates problem solving among biochemistry undergraduates and the process college science instructors go through as they innovate their teaching.
