Eric Oldfield, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign - "Targeting Isoprenoid Biosynthesis in Drug Discovery"

Eric Oldfield, University of Illinois

"Targeting Isoprenoid Biosynthesis in Drug Discovery"

The enzymes that target isoprenoid biosynthesis are important targets for anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic and anti-cancer drug development. I will give an overview of the work (mostly EPR,  crystallography and synthesis) being carried out in our lab on two 4Fe-4S proteins (IspG and IspH) that carry out unusual reduction reactions making key isoprenoids in bacteria and in malaria parasites, as well as enzymes involved in cell wall biosynthesis in bacteria, and membrane ergosterol biosynthesis in protozoa.