Biochemistry

Research enzyme structure, function, and evolution to design enzyme inhibitors that can combat fungal pathogens.

• Express Interest

“SSP is truly a transformative experience unlike any other. I have gotten to meet 35 remarkably talented people and have been challenged academically in ways I have never been before. It is safe to say that I will be leaving SSP a different person than I came.”

Pragathi K. '24

“SSP has made me confident that I have found my calling. I have never grown so much in this short of a time, and I truly feel like a changed person due to SSP.”

Leon Z. '23

“The construct of the SSP social sphere–a sphere dominated by creativity, support, and ingenuity–transcends the walls that surrounded us. It's hard to find words to describe the absolute beauty of this sphere that the people I worked tireless hours with created alongside me.”

Dezhou G., '24

“SSP was a place where I was enriched beyond my wildest dreams. Though the material was challenging, it was always a treat to learn more and more about subjects that I previously knew nothing about. I've met so many unique and wonderful people at SSP – they've made this experience one that I'll never forget!”

Sai K., '24

“I was totally blown away by my daughter's experience at SSP. She cannot stop talking about it after coming home! She enjoyed the fast-paced learning, rigorous research process, and discourse with the esteemed professors. What differentiates SSP from other programs is the tight-knit community built within the short six weeks. Group members work closely towards one common goal through sharing knowledge and helping each other. Outside of academia, SSP has thoughtfully planned activities for the kids to co-mingle and have fun. She will always cherish the good friendships and precious memories about SSP.”

Joanne D., Parent

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2026 Research Project: Fungal Inhibitor Design

Enzymes, proteins that facilitate and control different biochemical reactions, and their catalyzed products are necessary to sustain life. Understanding how the limited set of 20 building blocks we call amino acids give rise to all the structurally and chemically diverse proteins making up the proteome is one of the “holy grails” of biochemistry.  Understanding a protein’s three-dimensional structure helps us to design enzyme inhibitors that can treat harmful diseases caused by pathogens, such as bacteria or viruses. This provides us with the ability to find solutions to some of the biggest threats to human health.
 
In the “Fungal Inhibitor Design” research project, you will learn how to safely and effectively combat fungal pathogens that infect crops worldwide. You will characterize an enzyme within a fungal species, use molecular modeling to visualize the three-dimensional structure of this protein, and design enzyme inhibitors that can protect crops and, in turn, tackle one of the leading causes of world hunger.

A Preview of the Experience

In a team of three, you will combine bench experiments and computational tools to characterize and model a member of an enzyme family that is implicated in crop infection by fungal pathogens – one that has never previously been modeled. After characterizing the enzymatic properties of the protein and creating a molecular model, you will design a molecule that inhibits enzyme activity and safely protects crops from fungal infection. By the end of the program, you will generate a poster and written report detailing the information generated about your fungal enzyme.

The project goes beyond what is asked of undergraduate biochemistry majors in an analytical lab course. It demands hypothesis-building based on existing information, critical analysis, the interpretation of novel experimental results, and applying those results to part of the drug design pipeline. Topics covered include:

• Biochemistry: affinity chromatography, gel electrophoresis, enzyme assays, kinetics, inhibition, drug screening
• Molecular Modeling: homology modeling, ligand docking, molecular dynamics simulations, inhibitor optimization
• Mathematics: rate equations, linear and non-linear curve fitting, biostatistics
• Bioinformatics: sequence similarity searching, multiple sequence alignment, secondary structure and binding motif prediction