Dante Avalos
8th Year Graduate Student in Biophysics
Laboratory of Professor Catherine L. Drennan, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 68-680, Cambridge, MA 02139
I am generally interested in understanding how enzymes operate on a mechanistic level. In the Drennan Lab, I use primarily X-ray crystallography coupled with other biophysical methods to elucidate mechanisms of metalloenzymes. Currently, I am working on a Radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of an antiviral compound. This information will be key in understanding the unique biochemical reactions catalyzed by the Radical SAM enzyme superfamily.