Presidential Young Investigators Award

该研究奖项的主要目标是设计和构建具有新的和技术上有趣特性的蛋白质。这包括利用位点导向诱变和化学修饰在蛋白质表面建立特定的金属结合位点。这种蛋白质可以提供一种简单而廉价的纯化重组蛋白的方法，而且具有很高的选择性。其他更复杂的改变可用于制造用于有毒废物处理或金属检测的特定金属结合剂。另一个项目涉及确定设计在非水溶剂中稳定的酶的标准。这将基于在各种极性有机溶剂中稳定的天然蛋白质的详细核磁共振结构研究。

The main goal of this research award is the design and construction of proteins that exhibit new and technologically interesting properties. This is to include the building of specific metal-binding sites into protein surfaces, using both site-directed mutagenesis and chemical modifications. Such proteins can provide a simple and inexpensive means of purifying recombinant proteins that is also highly selective. Other more complex alterations can be used to build specific metal-binding agents for toxic waste treatment or metal detection. Another project involves the identification of criteria for designing enzymes that will be stable in nonaqueous solvents. This will be based on detailed nuclear magnetic resonance structural studies of a natural protein that is stable in a variety of polar organic solvents.