Steve Kent

Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Chemistry, Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago

The Kent laboratory is focused on using the tools of chemistry to understand how proteins work, pioneering the development of general methods for the total and semi-synthesis of proteins, including membrane proteins. Thus, techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can be applied to protein systems that have been labeled in a non-perturbing fashion with probe nuclei to act as local reporter groups. Chemical protein synthesis also enables the precise, site-specific introduction of fluorescent and EPR labels into complex protein systems to correlate dynamic properties with biological function.