John Cort

John Cort is an Adjunct Professor at Washington State University (WSU) and a Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). His primary affiliation is with the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS). Cort specializes in biomolecular structure and function, leveraging nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. His research focuses on natural products, specialized metabolites, and lignin structure-function relationships. He leads the Natural Products Magnetic Resonance Database (NP-MRD), an open-access repository for NMR data of natural products and metabolites.

Education: Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Washington (1997); B.A., Chemistry, Williams College.

Research Interests: NMR and MS applications in plant protein structure (e.g., phenylpropanoid biosynthesis), lignin biopolymer characterization, and drug-protein interactions. He also explores lignin conversion to biofuels and metabolite structure elucidation. His work bridges fundamental science and applied challenges in bioenergy and pharmaceuticals.

Publications: Over 150 peer-reviewed articles, including recent work on NP-MRD, lignin depolymerization, and protein structural biology. His studies often address interdisciplinary challenges in biotechnology, analytical chemistry, and systems biology.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with EMSL (Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory) and CAHNRS teams on projects involving metabolomics, structural genomics, and biofuel development. Leads NP-MRD curation efforts and structural biology initiatives.