Chair, Department of Chemistry
Professor of Chemistry
Aldo DeBenedictis Distinguished Professor
Joel Hildebrand Distinguished Professor
email: marletta@berkeley.edu
office: 570 Stanley Hall
phone: 510.666.2763
fax: 510.666.2765
lab:556 Stanley Hall
lab phone: 510.666.2766
Research Interests
Chemical Biology — Studies center on research at the interface of chemistry and biology focused on questions concerning biological catalysis and otherquestions relating to protein structure/function. Discovery of novel function and mechanism with the application of that knowledge to drug design is a central theme.
Research in Professor Marletta's research group is focused on structure/function relationships in proteins with a particular emphasis on the catalytic and biological properties of redox enzymes. Research questions are being answered using both the tools of chemistry and molecular and structural biology. Current studies include: (i) a molecular characterization of the NO signaling (nitric oxide synthase, guanylate cyclase and S-nitrosation, (ii) characterization of a novel family of hemoprotein sensor proteins for NO, CO and O2, (iii) metal homeostasis mechanisms, and (iv) characterization of novel metabolic pathways in Plasmodium falciparum.
Biography
Professor. Born 1951; A.B. State University College, Fredonia, NY (1973); Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco (1978); NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, M.I.T. (1978-80); Assistant/Associate Professor, M.I.T. (1980-87); Associate Professor, University of Michigan (1987-91); Professor, University of Michigan (1991-01); John G. Searle Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan (1991-01), Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1997-01); Miller Visiting Research Professor, University of California, Berkeley (2000); Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California, Berkeley (2001-present); George H. Hitchings Award for Innovative Methods in Drug Discovery & Design (1991); Faculty Recognition Award, University of Michigan (1992); Outstanding Achievement Award, State University of New York College at Fredonia (1993); MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1995); State University of New York, Alumni Honor Roll (1996); Senior Fellow, Michigan Society of Fellows, University of Michigan (1996); Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award in Biomedical Research University of Michigan Medical School (2000); State of Michigan Scientist of the Year (2000); Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, University of Michigan (2000); Member, Institute of Medicine; Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member, National Academy of Sciences; American Chemical Society's Repligen Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes (2007); Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest (2007); Emil Thomas Kaiser Award, sponsored by the Protein Society (2007).