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| Name |
Booker, Squire J. |
| Location
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University of Pennsylvania |
| Primary Field
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Biochemistry |
| Secondary Field
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Chemistry |
 Election Citation
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The Booker Lab studies how enzymes use radicals to catalyze key reactions involved in antibiotic resistance and the biosynthesis of important antibiotics and antitumor agents.
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Research Interests
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Research in the Booker Lab focuses on elucidating the detailed chemical mechanisms used by enzymes that catalyze reactions via radical intermediates. The lab focuses on how enzymes generate these radicals, control them, and then use them to effect kinetically challenging transformations both in regioselective and in stereoselective manners. Most ongoing projects involve members of the radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) superfamily, a diverse group of enzymes that employ radical chemistry to catalyze transformations involved in novel post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications, the biosynthesis and repair of DNA, primary and secondary metabolism, and the biosynthesis of myriad small molecules, many of which are enzyme cofactors or natural products that exhibit antibacterial and antitumor activities. His lab has characterized many of these enzymes, but focuses primarily on enzymes that methylate unactivated carbon atoms or that attach sulfur atoms to unactivated carbon atoms. Key contributions have been in the biosynthesis of lipoic acid, a key biomolecule used for energy metabolism and the breakdown of certain amino acids, as well as the mechanism of action of Cfr, a protein found in pathogenic bacteria that confers resistance to antibiotics. |
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