This project comprises research goals as well as a complementary education plan. The research goals involve the development of high-throughput screening techniques for libraries of proteins. A unique approach is involved that brings together synthetic organic chemistry and molecular genetics, in which bond formation or cleavage can be detected because the bond is used to control a cellular readout that depends on protein dimerization. This general strategy is anticipated to have broad applications ranging from enzymology and enzyme design to functional genomics and drug discovery.
With this CAREER Award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program's Organic Dynamics Program supports the research of Professor Virginia W. Cornish of Columbia University. Professor Cornish will design and assemble a molecular system to assess the potential effects of small proteins or other small molecules as they affect a given biochemical process. The educational plan has been designed to help students succeed in a research environment that is increasingly interdisciplinary. At the undergraduate level, topic-based teaching modules are being incorporated into the traditional organic chemistry curriculum, and a graduate-level seminar series will address career development issues ranging from balancing work and personal life to giving talks.
