ESP Biography
TARA BENZ-MOY, Stanford Graduate Student Studying RNA Catalysis
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Major: Biochemistry College/Employer: Stanford University Year of Graduation: G |
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Brief Biographical Sketch:
I am a fourth year graduate student in the Herschlag Lab at Stanford. My current work in RNA enzymes focuses on sites distal from the enzyme active site that affect both active site structure and function. Past Classes(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)S482: Oreo-ases: The rate of cookie catalysis and how it relates to disease in Splash! Fall 2009 (Oct. 10 - 11, 2009)
Enzymes, life’s chemists, can accelerate the rates of biological processes by up to 20 orders of magnitude over the uncatalyzed reaction. In this exploration, students will become enzymes (oreo-ases), and experiment with how mutations affect the rates of reaction, to gain an intuitive understanding of enzyme kinetics. Also, using HIV protease as the case study, students will explore the atomic level details of how mutations affect the structure of the enzyme, which, in turn, affects the rate at which it can carry out reactions. We will use a molecular viewer (SwissPDB) in this part of the exploration.
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