Research
The vision of the VLBS is threefold: (1) Developing and applying single cell chemical biology techniques, we will unlock the potential of natural products for precision medicine for cancer; (2) Understanding the biosynthesis of biologically active natural products will enable us to engineer new natural products that will become the next generation of drugs to treat human illnesses; (3) Revealing and understanding the evolutionary mechanisms for how nature evolves bioactive natural products, we will develop new paradigms for the construction of biosynthetic pathways for compounds that are not natural products but should be, thereby transforming what are now costly and waste-generating chemical synthetic processes in to ‘green’ and inexpensive processes. These visions are reflected in our projects incorporating methods in biochemistry, human cell biology, chemical synthesis, and microbiology.
Deconstructive Biosynthesis
Exploring the precise choreographies of life’s molecular genetic blueprints, to the enzymes they encode, to the concerted action of scores of enzymes, to manufacture secondary metabolites in vivo. By taking pathways apart, we understand them, and enable the ambitious goal putting novel pathways together.
Constructive Biosynthesis
In applying what we have learned from the study of the blueprints of life, we can now engineer microorganisms to synthesize compounds that have value to medicine. This includes engineering microorganisms to manufacture currently “non-natural” compounds such as AIDS drugs and anticancer compounds.
Biosynthesis for Discovery
Fully 60 – 70% of drugs used in treatment of human illness are either natural products, derived from natural products or can trace their origins to a secondary metabolite. Cutting edge single cell chemical biology methods allow us to bring natural products into the center of human chemical biology and precision medicine.
Principal Investigator
Brian Bachmann is Stevenson Professor of Chemistry at the Vanderbilt University. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Virginia Tech, M.S. from Southern Methodist University, and Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University.
Group Members
The VLBS, directed by Brian Bachmann, is an interdisciplinary group of researchers with diverse backgrounds in chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Researchers from the VLBS have generated foundational advances in natural product biosynthesis, synthetic biology and discovery.
Contact Us
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