Home
/
People
/
Frances H. Arnold
Frances H. Arnold
Research Summary
Biocatalysis, protein engineering, enzyme evolution, synthetic biology
Profile
Dual Affiliation with Division of Biology and Biological Engineering
Assistant: Cheryl Nakashima
My laboratory pioneered methods to direct the evolution of enzymes, and we continue to refine and develop new approaches to protein engineering. Our most recent efforts combine directed evolution, simulation, and machine learning to optimize enzymes and create new ones. We have applied our techniques to an array of important problems in biocatalysis, from pharmaceutical synthesis to biofuels to sensors and diagnostics. We have also made key contributions to the understanding of enzyme evolution in nature. Our work has been recognized by numerous awards, including the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Publications
- Alfonzo, Edwin;Hanley, Deirdre et al. (2024) Biocatalytic Synthesis of α-Amino Esters via Nitrene C–H InsertionJournal of the American Chemical Society
- Hanley, Deirdre;Li, Zi-Qi et al. (2024) Stereospecific Enzymatic Conversion of Boronic Acids to AminesJournal of the American Chemical Society
- Almhjell, Patrick J.;Johnston, Kadina E. et al. (2024) The β-subunit of tryptophan synthase is a latent tyrosine synthaseNature Chemical Biology
- Mao, Runze;Gao, Shilong et al. (2024) Biocatalytic, enantioenriched primary amination of tertiary C–H bondsNature Catalysis
- Yang, Jason;Li, Francesca-Zhoufan et al. (2024) Opportunities and Challenges for Machine Learning-Assisted Enzyme EngineeringACS Central Science
- Rogge, Torben;Zhou, Qingyang et al. (2024) Iron Heme Enzyme-Catalyzed Cyclopropanations with Diazirines as Carbene Precursors: Computational Explorations of Diazirine Activation and Cyclopropanation MechanismJournal of the American Chemical Society
- Sarai, Nicholas S.;Fulton, Tyler J. et al. (2024) Directed evolution of enzymatic silicon-carbon bond cleavage in siloxanesScience
- Wackelin, Daniel J.;Mao, Runze et al. (2024) Enzymatic Assembly of Diverse Lactone Structures: An Intramolecular C–H Functionalization StrategyJournal of the American Chemical Society
- Yang, Jason;Ducharme, Julie et al. (2024) Correction to "DeCOIL: Optimization of Degenerate Codon Libraries for Machine Learning-Assisted Protein Engineering"ACS Synthetic Biology
- Qin, Zi-Yang;Gao, Shilong et al. (2023) Biocatalytic Construction of Chiral Pyrrolidines and Indolines via Intramolecular C(sp³)–H AminationACS Central Science
2019-20
ChE/BE 163. Introduction to Biomolecular Engineering.
12 units (3-0-9); first term, 2019-20.
Prerequisites: Bi 8, Bi/Ch 110 or instructor's permission and CS 1 or equivalent.
The course introduces rational design and evolutionary methods for engineering functional protein and nucleic acid systems. Rational design topics include molecular modeling, positive and negative design paradigms, simulation and optimization of equilibrium and kinetic properties, design of catalysts, sensors, motors, and circuits. Evolutionary design topics include evolutionary mechanisms and tradeoffs, fitness landscapes, directed evolution of proteins, and metabolic pathways. Some assignments require programming (Python is the language of instruction).
Instructors: Arnold, Pierce
Instructors: Arnold, Pierce