Structure-based design of key amino acid substitutions to improve enzyme function.
Utilizing machine learning to accelerate the directed evolutions of enzymes with novel functions.
Enzyme biocatalysis offers sustainable and efficient pathways for drug discovery and production.
Chris discovered the first insect aromatic acetaldehyde synthase enzyme while he was a PhD student and then applied this enzyme to improve production of medicinal alkaloids while at Kobe University; this work is highlighted in two Nature Communications papers and a patent. This project is currently supported by the G-7 Scholarship Foundation and the Takeda Science Foundation!
Current machine learning methods for enzyme engineering train models based on ezyme squences, and the enzyme structures are not directly included. We have developed a neural network that predicts cytochrome P450 activity using 3D structures as training data.