Structures, mechanisms, and biological roles of new classes of microbial enzymes and microbial natural products

Even in the best-studied microbes, a significant proportion of the proteins and pathways remain unidentified and unstudied. Research in the Kenney Lab focuses on the elucidation of this unexplored microbial chemistry, particularly the structures and mechanisms of new classes of enzymes and natural products. One major area of interest is the identification of new types of metalloenzymes that are involved in the production of secondary metabolites.  A second area of interest is the biosynthesis of peptidic natural products.  A final area of interest involves the identification of natural products with roles in microbial metal homeostasis in complex environments.

Our research is interdisciplinary and draws on a wide range of techniques.  We use bioinformatics and other computational approaches to identify and prioritize interesting biochemical systems, and to model enzyme structure and reactivity.  Natural products are identified and characterized using mass spectrometry and NMR; when investigating enzyme mechanism, this is supplemented by various spectroscopic techniques, the use of substrate analogs, and other structural, biophysical, and bioinorganic techniques as needed. In vivoexploration of these microbial systems can include ‘omics, genetic manipulation of microbes, and other methods for analyzing changes in phenotype and metabolism on the cellular level.   

Education

• S.B.: 2007, Chemistry, MIT
  Ph.D.: 2017, Biological Sciences, Northwestern University (in the laboratory of Dr. Amy C. Rosenzweig)
  Postdoctoral Training: 2023, Harvard University (in the laboratory of Dr. Emily P. Balskus)

Department of Chemistry
219 Parkman Ave.
6^th floor, Chevron Science Center Annex
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Office phone: 412-383-2264
Lab phone: (not yet available)
Email: gkenney@pitt.edu

Website link: https://www.kenneylab.org/