Office Address
1479 Gortner Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
United States
Claudia Schmidt-Dannert
Distinguished McKnight University Professor; Kirkwood Chair of Biochemistry; Directory, BioTechnology Institute
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
One area of current research focuses on the design self-organizing systems from genetically encoded protein building blocks for applications in biocatalysis, biosynthesis and as functional materials. We are also engineering microbial cells to produce living materials and biocomposites as well synthetic biofilms with tailored functions. Another long-standing interest in our lab is the discovery and design of biosynthetic pathways (for example from mushrooms) for the production of pharmaceutically relevant compounds.
Research statement
We are interested in exploring and utilizing these biosynthetic machineries of microbes and plants to enable the discovery sustainable synthesis of valuable compounds for use as fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and chemical building blocks. We are developing and studying systems to carry out multi-enzyme biocatalysis in vitro and in engineered microbial systems for the synthesis of chemicals. By mixing and matching enzyme with desired catalytic activities identified from different sources, we are designing cascades of enzymatic reactions for the synthesis of compounds of interest. Intrigued by the spatial organization of biological systems at the subcellular and molecular level, we are investigating and repurposing self-organizing protein structures for applications in biocatalysis and for the fabrication of functional biomaterials.