A) Enzymatic mechanism and inhibitor design

All isoprenoids are assembled from IPP and DMAPP. In animals, isoprenoids are synthesized from mevalonic acid (MVA) via the MVA pathway whereas most pathogenic bacteria and malarial parasites utilize the 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate (DXP) pathway.  Our laboratory is interested in mechanistic studies of the DXP pathway enzymes by a combination of bioorganic and biophysical tools (EPR, ENDOR, Mössbauer, Resonance raman spectroscopies and X-ray crystallography).  The mechanistic studies will guide the development of mechanism-based inhibitors as new anti-microbial drugs.