Dr. Patricia M. Takahara has been awarded an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Chemistry. Dr. Takahara received the doctoral degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the supervision of Professor Stephen J. Lippard. Dr. Takahara will continue research at the California Institute of Technology under the sponsorship of Professor Douglas C. Rees. The postdoctoral research will focus on the determination of the X-ray crystal structure of succinate quinone oxidoreductase (SQR) from Paracoccus denitrificans. SQR is important to understand because loss of SQR function has been implicated in aging and degenerative diseases, and the 3-dimensional crystal structure is critical for investigating these problems at the molecular level. The work contributes to techniques and knowledge in metalloprotein crystallography. The Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Chemistry Program is viewed as an important infrastructural program designed to broaden the knowledge and experience of new Ph. D.s and attract them into meaningful careers in contemporary chemical research and teaching.
