We are interested in the functions and mechanisms of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of natural products and cofactors as well as those in fungal cell wall biosynthesis. The target enzymes play essential roles in inheritable human disease, or bacterial or fungal infectious disease. We aim to understand the mechanisms of these enzymes and use the knowledge to discover novel therapeutics. Specifically, we are interested in:
(1) Cofactor biosynthesis in humans and pathogenic bacteria.
(2) Antifungal biosynthesis and genome mining.
(3) Fungal cell wall biosynthesis and antifungal mode of action.
We use a combination of approaches from organic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and spectroscopy with particular focus on in vitro functional and mechanistic characterization of enzymes, small molecule characterization, bacterial and fungal/yeast genetics, synthetic organic chemistry, NMR, EPR and fluorescence microscopy.
