My primary research interest is the chemistry of biological systems. I am fascinated by the mechanisms used by enzymes to catalyze complex reactions. Enzymes catalyze specific transformations in aqueous solution and at ambient temperature that would not be possible using techniques of organic chemistry. My PhD work focused on understanding the mechanism by which 3-hydroxyanthraniliate is converted using enzymatic and non-enzymatic steps to quiniolinic acid, a precursor to the redox cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Secondary metabolites such as antibiotics are often complicated structures that involve multiple interesting enzymatic steps to assemble. My present work includes using the tools of chemistry to understand the enzymatic mechanisms of antibiotic assembly. Research interests are in the chemistry of biological systems, specifically in the area of mechanistic enzymology with a focus on antibiotic biosynthesis. This work uses a variety of techniques drawn from different fields including molecular biology, organic chemistry and classical biochemistry, to elucidate enzyme mechanism and function.
