My research group is interested in using structural and biochemical approaches to better understand three specific areas in biology: (1) the activation and inhibition of ribosomal GTPases in prokaryotic translation; (2) mechanisms of antibody inhibitors that target blood coagulation factor VIII; (3) crystallographic investigations of computationally engineered proteins and protein complexes. To accomplish our goals, we employ standard molecular biology techniques, biochemical and immunological assays for measurement of enzyme activity and protein-ligand binding, and a variety of structural techniques, such as x-ray crystallography, chemical footprinting and small angle x-ray scattering. We are also actively interested in harnessing structure-based inhibitor screening as well as the evolutionary capabilities of RNA to develop new biotechnologies that address clinical needs in blood coagulation.
