Research in my lab focuses on biotechnology, more particularly on the design and development of industrial biocatalysts. Among the many industrial applications of bioprocesses are the use of microbial and enzyme biocatalysts in biochemical and biomaterial production, drug manufacture, sensors and diagnostics, and food and feed production. Our research on enzyme biocatalysts focuses primarily on enzymes from thermophiles and hyperthermophiles. With their high thermostability and solvent tolerance, these enzymes are attractive candidates for industrial processes, which typically require catalysts that are robust, highly active, and have high chemical yields. These enzymes are also ideal model proteins to study the mechanisms underlying protein thermostability. Our work on microbial catalysts focuses on organic acid (succinate and aspartate) production by a natural high-succinate producing bacterial species.
