Michelle C. Chang

Last updated
Michelle Chia-yu Chang
Born1977 (age 4546)
Alma mater University of California, San Diego B.S. (1997)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ph.D. (2004)
Spouse Christopher Chang
Scientific career
Fields Metabolic engineering, Synthetic biology
Institutions UC Berkeley
Thesis Proton-coupled electron transfer in the Escherichia coli ribonucleotide reductase  (2004)
Doctoral advisor JoAnne Stubbe and Daniel G. Nocera
Other academic advisors Jay Keasling
Website www.cchem.berkeley.edu/mccgrp/publications.html

Michelle C. Y. Chang (born 1977) is a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and is a recipient of several young scientist awards for her research in biosynthesis of biofuels and pharmaceuticals. [1]

Contents

Education

Chang received her B.S. in Biochemistry and B.A. in French Literature from the University of California, San Diego in 1997.

She then moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for graduate school as a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellow (1997-2000) and M.I.T./Merck Foundation Predoctoral Fellow (2000-2002). She earned her Ph.D. in 2004 under the direction of JoAnne Stubbe and Daniel G. Nocera. During her graduate work, Chang studied proton-coupled electron transfer processes in ribonucleotide reductase enzymes, and demonstrated the first direct evidence of the radical transfer pathway of class I RNRs. [2] [3] [4]

Following graduate school, she conducted research as a Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellow at University of California, Berkeley with Jay Keasling (2004-2007). At Berkeley, Chang studied enzyme-catalyzed reactions, demonstrating that by expressing plant P450 enzymes in bacteria like E. coli, the E. coli could be engineered to produce terpenoids, a class of natural products often found in drugs. [5] [6] Chang began her independent career at UC Berkeley in 2007.

Awards

Personal life

Michelle was born in San Diego, California, to Chinese immigrant parents from Taiwan. [14] She is married to her colleague in the college of chemistry, Christopher Chang. [15]

Publications

Chang's scientific papers are listed on her group's website.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ribonucleotide</span> Nucleotide containing ribose as its pentose component

In biochemistry, a ribonucleotide is a nucleotide containing ribose as its pentose component. It is considered a molecular precursor of nucleic acids. Nucleotides are the basic building blocks of DNA and RNA. Ribonucleotides themselves are basic monomeric building blocks for RNA. Deoxyribonucleotides, formed by reducing ribonucleotides with the enzyme ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), are essential building blocks for DNA. There are several differences between DNA deoxyribonucleotides and RNA ribonucleotides. Successive nucleotides are linked together via phosphodiester bonds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ribonucleotide reductase</span> Class of enzymes

Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), also known as ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase (rNDP), is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of deoxyribonucleotides from ribonucleotides. It catalyzes this formation by removing the 2'-hydroxyl group of the ribose ring of nucleoside diphosphates. This reduction produces deoxyribonucleotides. Deoxyribonucleotides in turn are used in the synthesis of DNA. The reaction catalyzed by RNR is strictly conserved in all living organisms. Furthermore, RNR plays a critical role in regulating the total rate of DNA synthesis so that DNA to cell mass is maintained at a constant ratio during cell division and DNA repair. A somewhat unusual feature of the RNR enzyme is that it catalyzes a reaction that proceeds via a free radical mechanism of action. The substrates for RNR are ADP, GDP, CDP and UDP. dTDP is synthesized by another enzyme from dTMP.

Thioredoxin reductases are enzymes that reduce thioredoxin (Trx). Two classes of thioredoxin reductase have been identified: one class in bacteria and some eukaryotes and one in animals. In bacteria TrxR also catalyzes the reduction of glutaredoxin like proteins known as NrdH. Both classes are flavoproteins which function as homodimers. Each monomer contains a FAD prosthetic group, a NADPH binding domain, and an active site containing a redox-active disulfide bond.

Biosynthesis is a multi-step, enzyme-catalyzed process where substrates are converted into more complex products in living organisms. In biosynthesis, simple compounds are modified, converted into other compounds, or joined to form macromolecules. This process often consists of metabolic pathways. Some of these biosynthetic pathways are located within a single cellular organelle, while others involve enzymes that are located within multiple cellular organelles. Examples of these biosynthetic pathways include the production of lipid membrane components and nucleotides. Biosynthesis is usually synonymous with anabolism.

The National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences is awarded for innovative research in the chemical sciences that in the broadest sense contributes to a better understanding of the natural sciences and to the benefit of humanity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Keasling</span> American biologist

Jay D. Keasling is a professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also associate laboratory director for biosciences at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and chief executive officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute. He is considered one of the foremost authorities in synthetic biology, especially in the field of metabolic engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">F. Albert Cotton</span> American chemist (1930–2007)

Frank Albert Cotton FRS was an American chemist. He was the W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. He authored over 1600 scientific articles. Cotton was recognized for his research on the chemistry of the transition metals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Arnold</span> American chemist, Nobel laureate (born 1956)

Frances Hamilton Arnold is an American chemical engineer and Nobel Laureate. She is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In 2018, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the use of directed evolution to engineer enzymes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JoAnne Stubbe</span> American chemist

JoAnne Stubbe is an American chemist best known for her work on ribonucleotide reductases, for which she was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2009. In 2017, she retired as a Professor of Chemistry and Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phosphoribosylglycinamide formyltransferase</span>

Phosphoribosylglycinamide formyltransferase (EC 2.1.2.2, 2-amino-N-ribosylacetamide 5'-phosphate transformylase, GAR formyltransferase, GAR transformylase, glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase, GAR TFase, 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate:2-amino-N-ribosylacetamide ribonucleotide transformylase) is an enzyme with systematic name 10-formyltetrahydrofolate:5'-phosphoribosylglycinamide N-formyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction

Christopher J. Chang is a professor of chemistry and of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he holds the Class of 1942 Chair. Chang is also a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, adjunct professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, and faculty scientist at the chemical sciences division of Lawrence Berkeley Lab. He is the recipient of several awards for his research in bioinorganic chemistry, molecular and chemical biology.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf K. Allemann</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squire Booker</span> American biochemist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yimon Aye</span> American biochemist and molecular biologist

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Faculty & Research - College of Chemistry". chem.berkeley.edu.
  2. Chang, Michelle C. Y. (Michelle Chia-yu) (2004). Proton-coupled electron transfer in the Escherichia coli ribonucleotide reductase (Thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/30067.
  3. Chang, Michelle C. Y.; Yee, Cyril S.; Stubbe, JoAnne; Nocera, Daniel G. (2004-05-04). "Turning on ribonucleotide reductase by light-initiated amino acid radical generation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101 (18): 6882–6887. Bibcode:2004PNAS..101.6882C. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0401718101 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   406436 . PMID   15123822.
  4. Chang, Michelle C. Y.; Yee, Cyril S.; Nocera, Daniel G.; Stubbe, JoAnne (2004-12-01). "Site-Specific Replacement of a Conserved Tyrosine in Ribonucleotide Reductase with an Aniline Amino Acid: A Mechanistic Probe for a Redox-Active Tyrosine". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 126 (51): 16702–16703. doi:10.1021/ja044124d. ISSN   0002-7863. PMID   15612690.
  5. "Michelle Chang: A catalyst for change". The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  6. Chang, Michelle C. Y.; Eachus, Rachel A.; Trieu, William; Ro, Dae-Kyun; Keasling, Jay D. (2007). "Engineering Escherichia coli for production of functionalized terpenoids using plant P450s". Nature Chemical Biology. 3 (5): 274–277. doi:10.1038/nchembio875. ISSN   1552-4469. PMID   17438551.
  7. Review, MIT Technology. "Innovator Under 35: Michelle Chang, 31". MIT Technology Review.
  8. CAREER award Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Agilent Early Career Award Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  10. International Young Talents Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry - News and Publications - Chang and Hammond win NIH New Innovator Awards". Archived from the original on 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  12. "2012 Agnes Fay Morgan Research Award, Dr Michelle Chang" (PDF). iotasigmapi.info.
  13. "2015 National Award Recipients". American Chemical Society. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  14. "財經新聞 - PChome 新聞". PChome 新聞.
  15. "National magazines tout two chemists and two astronomers as top innovators in their fields" Archived 2011-06-13 at the Wayback Machine , UC Newsroom, August 22, 2008 (retrieved January 26, 2010)