We explore mechanistic problems at the intersection of biochemistry, cell biology, and human disease.
Polymerases as drivers of cancer.
Errors by replicative polymerases can be devastating, and have been implicated in cancers including endometrial, uterine, prostate, stomach, and brain. We use pre-steady-state kinetics to study mutations in polymerase epsilon, the human replicative polymerase responsible for leading strand synthesis, that have been implicated in cancer.
Polymerases as antiviral targets.
Therapeutically targeting viral polymerases has been enormously successful in combating infections such as HIV and hepatitis C. In collaborative work with Prof. Jair Lage De Siqueira Neto and Prof. Byron Purse, we have previously explored the catalytic and structural features of the RNA polymerase from Zika virus to identify strategies for therapeutic inhibition. At this time, we are not currently recruiting personnel for this project.
We are grateful for our funding sources: Previous: CSUPERB New Investigator Grant, SDSU University Grants Program.