With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes Program in the Chemistry Division is funding Dr. Amanda C. Bryant-Friedrich from the University of Toledo to develop chemical models systems for the study of nucleic acid damage resulting from oxidative processes. Synthetic organic chemistry along with analytical and biophysical techniques will be utilized to synthesize and evaluate both RNA and DNA derivatives that serve as precursors of reactive intermediates formed through nucleic acid damage processes. Damage to nucleic acids, particularly if not easily reparable, has broad implications in biomedical science and chemical biology, being a hallmark of oxidative stress/mutagenesis. The aim of this work is therefore to develop chemically stable substrates that can be utilized to determine damage pathways under biologically relevant conditions.
Deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) and their close cousins ribonucleic acids (RNA) are key biological substrates vital for the establishment of genetic characteristics and for the synthesis of proteins needed to carry out cellular processes. Damage to these important molecules leads to the compromise of the cell and has detrimental consequences in human health. The development of tools for the study of processes that damage DNA and RNA will allow for the experimental study of these damage processes with an eye toward better understanding the consequences of oxidative stress and the etiology of disease. This pursuit will allow undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from a broad range of backgrounds to acquire specialized training in biological chemistry. Women and minorities will be active participants in the research and training made possible through this award. The recruitment and retention of minority scientists has been and will continue to be a significant area of focus of this laboratory.
