Proteins are nature’s molecular machines, carrying out nearly all the functions in the cell. Using proteins outside of their natural context is a way to harness the unique capabilities of proteins to solve unmet needs in fields such as therapeutics, catalysis, and environmental remediation. However, challenges to doing so include the limited stability of proteins and synthetic accessibility. The Witus lab engages Macalester students to address these challenges through designing, creating, and characterizing protein-mimetic materials and protein conjugates. Projects include investigating how the conformation of peptides – very short proteins – affects their activity as catalysts, developing synthetic routes to new protein-mimetic structures, and comparing the effects of shielding polymers on enzyme activity towards the development of new biotherapeutics.
Links to news about our group:
Highlight of Macalester student-faculty collaborations
Press on Prof Witus and Larson's preprint study of the effect of vaccine educational videos on increasing vaccination intention can be found from: Macalester, Brief19, The New York Times, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, KARE11
Find information about Leah's Cottrell Scholar Award in 2021 here and here
Profile of student researcher Erika Aguiluz, who also won Macalester College's Global Citizenship Award - congrats Erika!
In 2016, Leah and Dennis congratulated their former advisor Fraser Stoddart on winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
In the summer of 2015, our lab participated in Macalester's HHMI Young Researcher Program, read more about it here
Profile of student researcher Malik Mays
Profile of student researcher Anneliese Gest