Winslow Professor of Chemistry George Shields and Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Karl Kirschner have received an AREA grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health to support research with students at Hamilton College. The proposal, titled "Reactivity and Dynamics of Enediyne Natural Products," brings $248,250 over the next three years to support research aimed at establishing the mechanism by which the enediyne family of natural products cleave DNA.
Establishing the mechanism by which these molecules cut DNA in half may lead to useful lead molecules with anti-cancer activity in the future. This research builds on previous work of Chantelle Rein '03 and Frank Pickard '05, postdoctoral associate Steve Feldgus, as well as other student researchers in the Shields lab. The AREA program supports research at undergraduate institutions and is highly competitive.
