Chemistry Seminar Series: Don Spratt

Don Spratt 
Assistant Professor
Carlson School of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Clark University
Worcester, Massachusetts

Wednesday, March 4, 2019
2:30 p.m.
C2-361 (Reading Room)

Abstract: 

The Homologous to E6AP C-T­erminus (HECT) E3 ubiquitin ligases play critical roles in cellular pathways including protein trafficking, protein degradation, and the innate immune response.  There are 28 distinct human HECT E3 ubiquitin ligases, all of which contain a characteristic HECT domain that is responsible for their ubiquitylation activities. There are many unanswered questions about how the HECT E3 ubiquitin ligases catalyze the attachment of ubiquitin on to their cognate substrates in the cell. This talk will discuss the ongoing research efforts in the Spratt Lab at Clark University to examine how these enzymes work at the atomic level and how expanding our knowledge on their molecular mechanisms can help improve human health.