Biochemistry

Chris Stead

Research in Dr. Stead’s lab focuses on the bacterium Coxiella burnetii and developing a more complete picture of its virenose and phospholipid metabolism. A better understanding of these pathways could contribute towards the development of a C. burnetii subunit vaccine and help with studies investigating the environmental stability of C. burnetii. Both projects will begin by introducing students to modern biochemistry and molecular biology techniques required for the cloning of candidate genes along with instrumentation such as a thermal cycler and UV-Vis spectrometer. Next students will optimize protein expression while learning how to perform SDS-PAGE and Western blots. Expressed proteins will be purified using a His-Tag and affinity chromatography. Finally development of in vitro biochemical assays to ascertain the function of the purified enzymes will introduce students to various techniques, including UV-Vis spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Dr. Stead (cstead@coe.edu) is a member of the chemistry department.