Drew C

- Research Program Mentor

Project ideas

Comparing Biosynthesis of Different Natural Products

Natural products are very diverse, but many share common families of enzymes in their biosynthetic gene clusters and thus are synthesized similarly. Comparing and contrasting the biosynthetic mechanisms of various natural products can elucidate commonalities as well as the differences that leads to their diversity.

Investigating Mechanisms of Action of Potential Antibiotics

We know that antibiotics kill harmful bacteria that make us sick, but how exactly do the antibiotics that we take actually enter and bind to cellular targets, stopping infection? Why does a certain antibiotic kill certain types of bacteria, but not others? Through a genetic engineering approach, we can investigate how many antibiotics are responsible for killing certain types of bacteria.

Coding skills