Karen Nazaretian Allen, PhD

Biography

Karen Allen investigates protein structure and function through X-ray diffraction and enzyme kinetic studies. Prior to joining the Department of Chemistry in 2008, she was Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. A leader in the American Chemical Society, she is currently an Associate Editor of the ACS journal, Biochemistry.

The Allen Research Group investigates the structure, function, and catalytic properties of enzymes. Their insights into these essential proteins guide the design of specialized molecules and enzymes to aid in drug discovery and in the development of tools that assist in protein studies. The Allen Group researchers conduct their studies using X-ray crystallography and spectroscopy, enzymology, and bioinformatics and routinely collaborate with leading laboratories at other universities.

Structure/Function/Catalytic Studies investigate the properties of specific enzymes in the haloalkanoic acid dehalogenase (HAD) Superfamily and the Hot Dog Thioesterase Superfamily. The HAD studies aim to develop an understanding of enzyme evolution. The Hot Dog thioestearse (found in eukaryotes, bacteria, and archea) studies focus on the biological functions of this pervasive domain (With the Dunaway-Mariano Group, University of New Mexico).

Drug Discovery Studies aim to develop inhibitors against the potent neurotoxin produced by the soil-dwelling bacterium Clostridium botulinum (BoNT). These inhibitors are crucial because these toxins have high potential for use in biological weapons (With the Tzipori Group, Tufts University).

Tool Discovery Studies develop multi-tasking, easy-to-use Lanthanide Binding Tags (LBTs). LBTs consist of 17 amino-acids which have minimal impact on the structures and functions of the proteins they help study (With the Imperiali Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Techniques & Resources include:

X-Ray Crystallography – the University runs a state-of-the-art X-ray crystallographic suite, including a rotating anode generator, with a CCD detector, capable of collecting data on both macro and small molecules. A dedicated X-Ray technician assists with data collection, processing, and troubleshooting.

The Crystal Farm – stores and visualizes 96-well trays of crystal, allowing automated tracking of crystal growth, remote viewing of crystals, optimized formulation of new crystal conditions, and enhanced temperature control.

Bioinformatics – lab utilizes the Scientific Computing and Visualization (SCV) supercomputers to create an approximation of the potential energy of molecules. These calculations are entered into CHARMM force fields in order to characterize the conformational changes of various members of the HAD superfamily.

Spectroscopy – lab performs Mass Spectrometry and CD Spectroscopy using CIC instrumentation.