Faculty research links to Nobel Prize in Chemistry

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry has a direct link to research done in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr. Aziz Sancar received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2015 for his contributions to understanding how cells repair DNA that have been damaged by ultra-violet light.  This is very exciting news for Drs. Gindt and Schelvis in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who have both published with Dr. Sancar and are building on Dr. Sancar’s groundbreaking and important research. Both professors are studying the DNA-repair mechanism of the DNA photolyase and related enzymes, research that is currently funded by NASA (Dr. Gindt), and the NSF (Dr. Schelvis).

Links to collaborative work with Dr. Sancar

• Origin of the Transient Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Signals in DNA Photolyase
• Resonance Raman Spectroscopic Investigation of the Light-Harvesting Chromophore in Escherichia coli Photolyase and Vibrio cholerae Cryptochrome-1

Links to most recent work from the Gindt and Schelvis laboratories

• Binding of Substrate Locks the Electrochemistry of CRY-DASH into DNA Repair
• Enzyme–Substrate Binding Kinetics Indicate That Photolyase Recognizes an Extrahelical Cyclobutane Thymidine Dimer