F. Wayne Outten

F. Wayne Outten is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina, affiliated with the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. He holds the Guy F. Lipscomb, Sr. Professorship of Biochemistry. His research focuses on microbial metal metabolism, particularly Fe-S cluster biogenesis under stress conditions and metal homeostasis in bacteria. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and secured significant NIH and NSF funding.

Education: B.S. in Biology (College of William and Mary, 1995); Ph.D. in Biochemistry (Northwestern University, 2001); Postdoctoral Fellowship at NIH (2001–2005). Awards include the Cottrell Scholar Award and Ada B. Thomas Advisor Award.

Research Interests: Iron and copper homeostasis, oxidative stress responses, bacterial pathogenesis, and Fe-S cluster assembly pathways (Suf system). Key contributions include defining roles of SufBCD and SufE proteins in Fe-S cluster formation under iron starvation and oxidative stress.

Grants: Current NIH support for studying Fe-S cluster dynamics and NSF funding for membrane biogenesis integration with metal metabolism. Collaborative projects include designing pH-responsive ferritin nanocages for drug delivery.

Labs: GSRC 303, 304, 320, 321. Active in professional societies (ASBMB, ACS) and conference organization (Iron-Sulfur Biogenesis). Mentored 23 undergraduates, 16 Ph.D. students, and 3 postdocs. Military service includes roles in U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard.