Researcher Summary
Research in our lab focuses on the structure, function and inhibition of key enzymes involved in infection and disease. We are also interested in the evolution of enzyme function, and conversely its design and manipulation.
We study a variety of enzymes: from those responsible for the biosynthesis of amino acids, in particular lysine, since these are validated drug targets; to glycolytic enzymes, such as pyruvate kinase, since these are tractable model systems to understand enzyme allostery. The list is ever increasing.
A common theme in the lab is the role protein-protein interactions in a variety of biological systems, mostly derived from bacteria, but more recently including eukaryotic proteins involved in cancer, where we hope to address the twin problems of how and why proteins form complexes and the functional consequences of these associations.