Contact Info:   Dr. Pablo Sobrado Associate Professor Biochemistry psobrado@vt.edu (540) 231-9485   Department Website   Lab Website

Synopsis:

Dr. Sobrado focuses on determining the chemical mechanism, 3-D structure, and the identification of inhibitors of enzymes important for pathogenesis in Aspergillus fumigatus, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which cause Chagas Disease, tuberculosis and fungal infections.

Description:

Dr. Sobrado’s laboratory conducts research on the mechanism and regulation of enzyme action, structure-function of enzymes, and identification of novel kinase substrates. Projects related to infectious disease include

1. biosynthesis of the siderophores produced by the human pathogens Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Yersinia pestis;
2. understanding Galactofuranose (Galf) an important component of the cell surface of several pathogenic bacteria, protozoan, fungi, and mycobacterium that is not present in humans, making its biosynthetic pathway a target for new antibiotics; and
3. determination of the activity, regulation, and identification of interacting partners of mammalian casein kinase 1 (CK 1) splice variants and characterization of CK 1 as a target for anti-parasitic chemotherapy.