معرفی
Katherine J. Franz is a Professor of Chemistry at Duke University, affiliated with the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and the Duke Cancer Institute. She holds a Ph.D. from MIT (2000) and a B.A. from Wellesley College (1995). Her research focuses on bioinorganic chemistry, particularly metal ion coordination in biological systems, with applications in antimicrobial therapies, cancer metallomics, and neurodegenerative diseases. Key projects include developing prochelators targeting fungal and bacterial pathogens, studying copper's role in antifungal drug efficacy, and designing light-activated metal complexes for controlled drug release.
Dr. Franz has received numerous awards including the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2009), Sloan Research Fellowship (2008), and the NSF CAREER Award (2005). She leads a lab with 6 current students/mentees and has secured grants from NIH, NSF, and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation. Her lab's work spans from fundamental metalloprotein studies to translational drug development, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches in chemistry and biology.
- Education:
- Ph.D. in Chemistry, MIT, 2000
- B.A. in Chemistry, Wellesley College, 1995
- Research Interests: Metal homeostasis in pathogens, copper's role in antifungal resistance, prodrug design for targeted therapy, and mechanistic studies of metalloproteins.
- Grants:
- Tri-Institutional Molecular Mycology Training Program (NIH, 2024–2029)
- Duke PREP Biomedical Sciences Program (NIGMS, 2022–2027)
- Copper-Mucin Interaction Study (BSF, 2022–2026)
Her lab's publications (n=15+ since 2020) highlight breakthroughs in prodrug selectivity, copper-induced protein toxicity, and histatin antifungal mechanisms. The Franz Lab actively collaborates with clinicians and computational scientists to advance therapeutic strategies addressing unmet medical needs in infectious diseases and cancer.
