Cryo-EM expert support for single particle structure determination projects in the Biochemistry department

Protein structure determination by cryo-EM and x-ray crystallography, supporting vaccine, small molecule, and biologics drug design projects. This included construct design, eukaryotic protein production, and protein purification to support successful structure determination.

Biochemistry and structural biology (primarily modeling informed by cryo-EM and SAXS) to understand the assembly of large protein:nucleic acid complexes. A focus on understanding how point mutations in the Mu transposase protein can accelerate transpososome assembly.

PhD candidate in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics program, in the lab of Dr. Phoebe Rice. My primary project discovered the surprising extent to which DNA flexibility can modulate the activity and target choice of Mu, a model transposition system. This project required careful large scale protein purification to obtain consistently active and pure transposase, followed by purification and quantification of the active transposase-DNA complex using gel filtration/size exclusion chromatography. Analysis of the activity of the complex then involved monitoring kinetics using radioactive DNA substrate, binding affinity measurements using fluorescence anisotropy, and measuring conformation distributions using TCSPC FRET.I also took on a number of side projects in the lab with an emphasis on structural biology using SAXS and x-ray crystallography.