Carbon dioxide capture from the point of generation or the ambient environment is broadly recognized to play a key role in climate change mitigation. However, the incumbent methods are energy-intensive and fossil fuel-dependent. My research program aims to revolutionize the technological landscape for carbon capture by developing an entirely new mechanistic platform powered by renewable … Continued
Aerosols have an outsized influence on climate through their interactions with light and clouds. Solar radiation management (SRM) strategies propose to intentionally inject these tiny nanometer-scale particles into the atmosphere to increase Earth’s albedo and induce global cooling, as has been observed following major volcanic activity. While the ethics of SRM remain a topic of … Continued
Biocatalysis holds the potential to revolutionize the sustainable production of biofuels, chemicals, and medicine. However, current biocatalysis research is limited to the engineering of enzyme functions known in biochemistry or organic chemistry. By combining our expertise in synthetic biology and synthetic chemistry, we are developing new strategies to discover and evolve novel modes of biocatalysis … Continued
Catalysis plays a crucial role in chemical discovery and production to meet societal needs across sectors (biomedical, agricultural, energy, etc.) However, despite the modularity involved in catalytic assembly of simpler building blocks under mild conditions, dominant methodologies rely heavily on unsustainable use of precious metals and generate stoichiometric waste from pre-activated reagents. My research team … Continued
Spatiotemporal regulation of the cellular RNAs is crucial for proper protein production and cellular function. However, the intricate subcellular dynamics and regulatory mechanisms of RNA life cycle remain largely obscured due to the limitations of existing analytical methods. Thus I aim to create a panoramic map of the RNA life cycle at genome-wide scale through … Continued
For decades, petroleum-derived hydrocarbons have served as the primary energy source and central feedstock for the chemical industry. Today, this petroleum-centered paradigm is no longer sustainable. My research program aims to develop a new generation of porous materials that are compatible with alternative raw materials and renewable energy sources. First, drawing inspiration from nature, my … Continued
Directed evolution has yielded myriad molecules to transform biotechnology and industrial processes. Biomolecule discovery required to fuel therapeutics, however, lies beyond the scope of in vitro and prokaryotic directed evolution, which frequently results in products that fail to function properly in mammalian systems. Motivated by the ever-growing demand for biomolecules tailored to probe and perturb … Continued
Organic synthesis has changed the world by empowering chemists to tailor complex molecules to specific purposes. To do so, chemists use an approach wherein a “lead” molecule is optimized for its function through iterative structural modifications. Despite the fact that this process philosophically involves changes that are imagined to the candidate in hand, syntheses of … Continued
A new research program involving the rational design, chemical synthesis, reactivity, and use of alkaline earth metal hydrides as molecular vehicles for the chemical storage of hydrogen is proposed. Due to the earth abundance, low-cost, recyclability, and environmentally non-toxic nature of alkaline earth metals such as magnesium, they serve as promising candidates for hydrogen storage … Continued
Despite the wide applications of enzymes in pharmaceutical industry, the development of many drug compounds does not benefit from the power of biological synthesis, as their therapeutic value relies on chemical motifs rarely present or even completely absent in biology. To extend the scope of biosynthesis to include these non-natural moieties, we will employ a … Continued