معرفی
David D. Boehr is a Professor of Chemistry and Associate Head for Undergraduate Education at The Pennsylvania State University, affiliated with the Department of Chemistry within the Eberly College of Science. His research focuses on understanding protein dynamics in enzyme function, particularly in viral and bacterial pathogenesis. Boehr employs nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy alongside biochemical and biophysical techniques to study enzyme dynamics, structure-function relationships, and their implications for drug design and protein engineering.
Boehr holds a B.Sc. from the University of Lethbridge (1993), a Ph.D. from McMaster University (2004), and completed postdoctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute (2008). He has been honored with the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2011) and the NSERC Predoctoral Fellowship (1998–2003).
Research interests include:
- Role of protein dynamics in enzyme catalysis and regulation
- Allostery in multi-enzyme complexes
- Structural basis of viral replication mechanisms
- Design of antiviral therapies targeting RNA-dependent RNA polymerases
Key contributions involve elucidating conformational changes in enzymes like chorismate mutase and tryptophan synthase, and investigating how viral proteins (e.g., picornavirus 3C protease) interact with RNA and membranes. His lab’s work bridges basic biochemistry and translational applications in medicine.
Notable grants include the NSF CAREER Award, supporting studies on enzyme dynamics and allostery. Current projects explore liquid-liquid phase separation in viral replication and engineering enzyme functional dynamics.
