February
16,
2018
Yi Tang, PhD
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering
University of California – Los Angeles
Host: Jason Kwan
Nature performs challenging synthetic transformations using powerful enzymes. These enzymes are frequently found in the biosynthetic pathways of natural products, many of which have served as inspirations for generations of synthetic chemists over the last fifty years. With recent advances in our abilities to manipulate the biosynthetic pathways, many powerful enzymes have been revealed and characterized. In this talk, I will present a selection of recent work in the identification, characterization and engineering of several enzymes that catalyze difficult transformations and generate structural complexity in fungi. Examples include multifunctional P450s, pericyclases and enzymes that catalyze epoxide rearrangements will be covered. Interesting biology associated with newly discovered fungal natural products will also be discussed.
About the Speaker:
Yi Tang received his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering and Material Science from Penn State University. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from California Institute of Technology under the guidance of Prof. David A. Tirrell. After NIH postdoctoral training in Chemical Biology from Prof. Chaitan Khosla at Stanford University, he started his independent career at University of California Los Angeles in 2004. He is currently the Chancellor Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA, and holds joint appointments in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; and Department of Bioengineering. His recent awards include the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Allan P. Colburn Award (2009), the American Chemical Society (ACS) Biochemical Technology Division (BIOT) Young Investigator Award (2011), the ACS Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (2012), the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (2012), NIH DP1 Director Pioneer Award (2012) and the ACS Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry (2014).
