معرفی
Jarett Wilcoxen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), within the College of Letters & Science. He leads the Wilcoxen Group, focusing on bioinorganic chemistry with particular emphasis on metalloenzymes. His research explores structure-function relationships in radical SAM enzymes and molybdenum-containing enzymes, utilizing biochemical and biophysical techniques such as protein purification, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and UV-vis spectroscopy.
Wilcoxen holds a BS in Biochemistry from UC Santa Barbara, a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Riverside (under Prof. Russ Hille), and completed postdoctoral training at UC Davis with Prof. R. David Britt. His lab investigates how metalloenzymes generate and control reactive intermediates, with projects on radical SAM enzyme chemistry and molybdenum cofactor tuning in biological systems.
Key research directions include understanding radical SAM enzyme mechanisms through auxiliary domains and elucidating molybdenum cofactor interactions via structural and kinetic studies. The group employs purified enzyme systems and synthetic models to probe reaction pathways and electronic structures. Recent work has advanced insights into nitrogenase cofactor biosynthesis and nitrite reductase mechanisms.
Wilcoxen advises graduate students (e.g., Jon, Sarah, Matt) and undergraduate researchers (e.g., Faija, Mohammad). His lab utilizes state-of-the-art equipment for spectroscopic and biophysical analyses. Ongoing projects aim to bridge mechanistic enzymology with synthetic inorganic chemistry, contributing to both fundamental biochemistry and catalytic model development.
Wilcoxen's work has been published in high-impact journals such as Nature Chemistry, Angewandte Chemie, and Journal of the American Chemical Society, with a focus on metalloenzyme systems. His research integrates computational approaches and collaborative interdisciplinary methods to address complex biological catalysis challenges.
