Question: Will identifying new redox-active metalloproteins uncover new biomarkers and targets for early diagnostics and treatment of cancer ?
Motivation: DNA/RNA-processing proteins carrying [4Fe4S] clusters and flavins are essential for cellular growth and genome maintenance.
Challenge: Robust methods to discover new redox proteins are lacking, and [4Fe4S] clusters degrade rapidly in oxic environments.
Strategy: The ET lab will identify unknown metalloproteins through the use of bioinorganic interfaces and bioinformatics. Newly isolated proteins that are central to nucleic acid repair, replication, transcription, and translation will be exploited as biomarkers for early cancer detection. Redox cofactor biogenesis and reconstitution machinery will also be investigated as new targets for cancer diagnostics and treatment.