A postdoctoral position is available to study the structures and
dynamics of the enzymes in the shikimate and folate biosynthetic
pathways. Since the shikimate and folate biosynthetic pathways are
unique to microbial and plant worlds, the two pathways are ideal targets
for development of antimicrobial agents and herbicides. The long-term
goals of the projects are to elucidate the structure-function
relationships of these proteins that account for their catalytic
mechanisms and to design specific inhibitors that may become new
antimicrobial agents. A variety of techniques is employed in these
projects, including recombinant DNA, biochemical, and biophysical
methods. The main structural technique is multidimensional NMR
spectroscopy. These projects are of great biomedical significance,
especially in light of rapidly increasing antibiotic resistance in
recent years that has rendered the current antibiotics ineffective for
treating many microbial infections and caused a worldwide health care
crisis.
Our laboratory is well equipped for protein NMR spectroscopy.
Instrumentation includes three computer workstations (one from SGI and
two from Sun) and 500 MHz and 600 MHz Varian NMR spectrometers. The 600
MHz Varian Inova NMR spectrometer is equipped with four rf channels and
tri-axis pulsed field gradients and is dedicated to biomolecular NMR
studies.
The initial appointment for the position will be two years and is
renewable upon mutual agreement. The applicants should have experience
with multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. If interested, please send a CV
along with telephone numbers and email addresses of three references to
the address below. Email responses are encouraged.
Dr. Honggao Yan
Department of Biochemistry
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Tel: (517) 353-8786
Fax: (517) 353-9334
Email: yanh at pilot.msu.edu
