Publications

R&D Areas/Projects

• Recombinant technology My primary research interest is in the large scale production and purification of recombinant proteins. This involves various aspects: the creation of genetic constructs, modification of host strains, optimization of fermentation and process control techniques, development of biosensors for online estimation of metabolites, and development of novel techniques for product recovery from high cell density cultures. An associated interest is the development of process techniques for large scale production of DNA vaccines. These vaccine candidates are currently the most promising methods of controlling diseases such as tuberculosis.
• Flux analysis Optimal production of therapeutics in biological systems requires that cultivation of the recombinant host be carefully controlled. This in turn requires that nutrient consumption be monitored. Conventional analyses involve the quantitation of a few isolated metabolic steps. I am interested in developing techniques which use radiolabeled nutrients as tracers. 13C labeled intermediates will be quantified using NMR and MS, and relative fluxes through various pathways estimated in situations where the organism is placed under stress. This involves extending analytical techniques developed to estimate acetate accumulation in the bacterium E. coli.
• Protein structure analysisI am interested in developing and applying geometric mathematical techniques to the comparison of protein structures. This involves recognizing motifs, modeling spatial relations for the optimal alignment of structure and protein docking (predicting how proteins interact given their 3D structure). The long term benefits of such analyses include rational drug design.

PhD TA Topics