Office/Lab: Room 425 /414-420
Contact: fs31@cornell.edu / 607 254-4391 fax 607 254 2958
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University
Our research is directed at characterizing structures and biological function of natural products, often referred to as secondary metabolites. The potential of natural products to serve as tools for understanding biological processes at the molecular level and to provide lead structures for the design of new pharmaceuticals to fight human disease is undisputed. Considering their origin in living organisms, natural products must have evolved to serve biological functions. This evolutionary history has resulted in small molecules with useful affinities for specific molecular targets. Nature uses a distinct approach to create such molecules, and biosynthesis often differs in its fundamental logic from laboratory synthesis.
We are particularly interested in improving methods for the detection and structural characterization of natural products. Usually, natural products occur as - often minor - components of a more or less complex biological matrix, which necessitates the use of time-consuming and lossy fractionation procedures for their isolation. Reducing the dependency on fractionation would increase the realm of accessible natural products and aid with determining their biological roles. One of our aims is to develop NMR-based approaches that will enable detailed characterization of secondary metabolites in native or marginally fractionated biological extracts. Using this methodology we pursue the biosynthesis and identification of new polyketides from Bacillus, combinatorial fermentation of fungi, small-molecule signaling in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, as well as compounds mediating chemical defense in arthropods. Check out our research pages for details.