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Alan Brash


Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are easily oxidized, and enzymes (“oxygenases”) take advantage of this to form lipid signaling mediators such as the prostaglandins and leukotrienes. The focus of Alan Brash’s research is the mechanism of biosynthesis of these oxygenated lipids and their biological role. We employ a wide variety of analytical methods on tissues and cells and recombinant enzymes, with structural analysis of enzymic products by HPLC, UV-Visible spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and NMR.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are easily oxidized, and enzymes (“oxygenases”) take advantage of this to form lipid signaling mediators such as the prostaglandins and leukotrienes. The focus of Alan Brash’s research is the mechanism of biosynthesis of these oxygenated lipids and their biological role. We employ a wide variety of analytical methods on tissues and cells and recombinant enzymes, with structural analysis of enzymic products by HPLC, UV-Visible spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and NMR.

Keywords: lipoxygenase , cyclooxygenase , cytochrome P450 , analytical chemistry , fatty acid biochemistry & chemistry

Research Area: Structural Biology , Drug Design , Proteomics/Metabolomics