Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Enzymes are biological molecules that catalyze essentially all of the chemical reactions that occur in living systems. Reactions that require thousands of years to complete in the absence of a catalyst can take place in seconds in the presence of an enzyme. A detailed understanding of how enzymes accelerate these reactions can greatly advance our knowledge of chemical catalysis. In addition, this understanding allows the chemist to design molecules that interfere with, or inhibit, the action of enzymes. This is particularly useful when an invading bacteria or virus depends on the enzyme for survival. In these cases the enzyme inhibitors have the potential to serve as drugs. One area of research that we are interested in involves the enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of sugars that play key roles in the physiology of humans, plants, and pathogenic organisms. One such sugar is sialic acid that coats the surface of mammalian cells and mediates cell-cell recognition processes. For example, the influenza virus binds to the surface sialic acids during its first stages of infectivity. Another area of research involves studies on plant enzymes that produce complex natural products and help the plant survive. One such project involves the enzyme that catalyzes the first step in the biosynthesis of alkaloids such as morphine. We hope to use this enzyme to efficiently prepare new alkaloids of medicinal value.