Michael J. Reddish

Dr. Michael J. Reddish is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences at Appalachian State University, where he joined in 2019 and leads the Reddish Lab focused on cytochrome P450 enzymes and steroid enzymology.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Chemistry from Emory University (2015) under Dr. Brian Dyer, investigating enzyme conformational changes in catalysis using laser spectroscopy.
• B.S. in Chemistry from Furman University (2009) with Dr. Jeff Petty, researching trinucleotide repeat sequences in genetic disorders.

Research Interests: The lab examines how allosteric sites distant from enzyme active sites influence catalysis, specifically studying human cytochrome P450 27A1's interaction with adrenodoxin. This work explores implications for cholesterol/vitamin D metabolism and cancer development using recombinant protein expression, enzyme kinetics, optical spectroscopy, and HPLC-UV-MS techniques.

Funding and Advising: Secured competitive grants including NIH R35 ESI (2022-2027), NSF LEAPS-MPS (2022-2024), and a Flash Grant (2021-2022). Mentored undergraduate researchers presenting at regional conferences, with graduates pursuing PhDs at institutions including University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of Virginia, and Georgia Tech.

Laboratory: The Reddish Lab provides immersive undergraduate research training in biochemical techniques, with recent work highlighted in Appalachian Today and presented at the Southeast Enzyme Conference and Midwest Enzyme Chemistry Conference.