IDeA Award: Catie Shelton
- Institution: Northern Kentucky University
- Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
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Rank: Assistant Professor
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Project Title: Characterization of the isomerase and lyase mechanisms of MST enzymes
- About the project: The Shelton Lab is looking for new ways to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria like Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We do this by studying a class of enzymes that produce molecules essential for the organisms to survive. We study how the enzymes do their job so we can better understand what kinds of drugs/compounds will act as good inhibitors. Inhibiting the enzyme seriously compromises the organism’s ability to survive.
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Intended outcomes: To help define the catalytic mechanism of menaquinone, siderophore, and tryptophan (MST) enzymes so new inhibitors can be developed as antibiotics.
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How KY INBRE will help accomplish these goals: In addition to providing stipends for several undergraduate research students, KY INBRE funding has helped purchase equipment for our x-ray crystallography experiments and supplies and reagents for our enzymology experiments.
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Outside of the classroom/lab: I enjoy gardening and spending time with family.
