Maria-Eirini Pandelia

Maria-Eirini Pandelia is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Brandeis University, affiliated with the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of metalloproteins involved in critical biological processes, particularly those relevant to human health and environmental science. She employs a combination of spectroscopic methods (e.g., Mössbauer and EPR), structural biology, and bioinformatics to investigate enzyme catalysis and metallocofactor function.

Education: B.S. in Physics (University of Patras, Greece), MSc in Applied Physics and Mathematics (National Technical University of Athens), Ph.D. in Biochemistry (Max-Planck Institute for Bioinorganic Chemistry/Technical University Berlin), and postdoctoral research at Pennsylvania State University.

Research interests include iron-sulfur clusters, enzyme mechanism diversification within protein superfamilies, and the functional roles of metalloproteins in DNA synthesis/repair. Her lab studies medically relevant enzymes (e.g., hepatitis B virus HBx protein) and industrially relevant catalysts, using transient kinetic and redox techniques to characterize fleeting reaction intermediates.

Awards: None explicitly listed.

Grants and advising: Not detailed in provided texts, but her lab actively conducts interdisciplinary research with a focus on enzyme mechanisms and metalloprotein structures.

Labs/Teams: Director of the Pandelia Lab, specializing in bioinorganic chemistry and enzymology. Collaborations include studies on hydrogenases, ribonucleotide reductases, and organophosphonate-degrading enzymes.