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Department ofChemistry and Biochemistry

Stories

Ian Carter-O'Connell awarded an Academic Research Enhancement Award

This was awarded from the National Institutes of Health to support his lab's project: "Defining the Biochemical Function and Therapeutic Utility of Unique PARP14 and PARP15 ADP-Ribosylation Sites."

Last month, Ian Carter-O'Connell was awarded an Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15) from the National Institutes of Health to support his lab's project: "Defining the Biochemical Function and Therapeutic Utility of Unique PARP14 and PARP15 ADP-Ribosylation Sites."

This project builds on the early work performed in the lab and will involve the study of a family of proteins known as poly-ADP-ribose polymerases (PARPs). PARPs catalyze ADP-ribosylation of target proteins, altering their cellular function. PARPs have been implicated in a number of physiological and pathophysiological functions – including cell development, viral infection, and cancer progression – but the links between unique ADP-ribosylation events and their downstream effects are unknown. The proposed work will define the role of specific ADP-ribosylation modifications during viral infection while developing novel peptide-based inhibitors as probes and therapeutics to selectively block PARP activity.

This project will benefit from a multidisciplinary, institution-spanning collaboration between the Carter-O'Connell lab and the labs of Amelia Fuller, Larry L. David (Chemical Physiology & Biochemistry, OHSU), and Matthew Daugherty (Biological Sciences, UCSD).

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Members of the Carter-O'Connell Lab celebrating a successful summer research program. From left: Yazmin Torres '20 (Biochemistry), Braden Yoshinaga '20 (Biology), Miles Yamasaki '20 (Biochemistry), Damon Rideaux '19 (Biology), Ian Carter-O'Connell, Sean Wallace '19 (Biochemistry), and Leila Chihab '20 (Biochemistry).