Dr. Mary T. Didiuk has been awarded an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Chemistry. Dr. Didiuk received the doctoral degree from Boston College under the supervision of Professor Amir H. Hoveyda. Dr. Didiuk will continue research at Harvard University under the sponsorship of Professor Gregory L. Verdine. The postdoctoral research targets studies that afford structural information on DNA damage recognition and catalysis. Inhibitors bind to DNA glycosylases tightly, but do not undergo the catalytic cascade of events. This allows for the formation of a stable DNA-protein complex which the research examines in detail. The studies are intended to elucidate structural details on the substrate binding mode of DNA glycosylases in order to obtain an understanding of the function of these DNA repair enzymes. 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.
