Take the step towards a career in organic chemistry and biochemistry...
Publications
All publications
Characterization of the Entry Steps in Diterpenoid Alkaloid Biosynthesis
Molecular Plant 2026: Early View
The diterpenoid alkaloids are a group of specialized metabolites where the terpenoid and alkaloid classes intersect, and which are found primarily within the Aconitum (Wolf’s-Bane) and Delphinium (Larkspur) genera. While there is considerable interest in these compounds for their wide range of bioactivities, their structural \ncomplexity poses a significant challenge for chemical synthesis. Biosynthesis offers an appealing alternative for production, however, \nlittle progress has been made towards elucidation of their biosynthetic pathways. Here, we employ a comparative transcriptomics approach to identify six enzymatic steps in the biosynthesis of atisinium, conserved across both Delphinium grandiflorum and Aconitum plicatum. Key to this pathway is a reductase which selectively incorporates \nethanolamine over ethylamine into the diterpenoid scaffold. While the majority of diterpenoid alkaloids contain an ethylamine moiety, we demonstrate through isotope labeling in Aconitum callus…
Expedient single-round selection of hyper-modified aptamer targeting insulin receptor from over-represented dually nucleobase-modified DNA libraries
Nature Communications 2026: Early View
Expansion of the geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase gene family underlies the evolution of terpenoid biosynthesis in termites
PLOS Biology 2026: Early View
Defect-induced channel blockage drives propene and propane separation in PCR zeolites
Chemical Engineering Journal Advances 26: 101229 (2026)