Brenda Blacklock

Brenda Blacklock is Teaching Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Indiana University Indianapolis School of Science. Her biochemistry research investigates sphingolipid metabolism and fatty acid elongation pathways using Dictyostelium discoideum as model system. She examines the role of very long chain fatty acids in bioactive lipid formation and their functions in cellular signaling and development.

Research specialties include:

• Sphingolipid diversification and function
• Fatty acid elongation complex characterization
• Metabolic pathway regulation
• Model organism biochemistry

Her laboratory employs molecular genetics, biochemical, and analytical techniques to study lipid metabolism. Research utilizes the accessible genetics and developmental biology of D. discoideum to elucidate fundamental mechanisms of lipid-mediated signaling.