Carol M. Taylor

Biography

Carol Taylor received her BSc in 1987, and her MSc in 1988 from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She received her PhD in 1993 from the University of Pennsylvania (USA) under the direction of Professor Ralph Hirschmann and Professor Amos B. Smith, III. From 1993 to 1994, Carol was a Research Associate at Princeton University (NJ, USA) with Professor Dan Kahne. In 1995, she returned to New Zealand to the position of Lecturer at the University of Auckland where she was awarded continuation of appointment in 1998 and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1999. In April 2000, she moved to Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. In 2001, she received the RSC/NZIC Easterfield Award for original contributions by a New Zealand chemist under the age of 35 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2003. In July 2006, she returned to the USA as an Associate Professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and was promoted to Full Professor in 2012. Her research program is primarily engaged with the chemical synthesis and physical characterization of novel peptide motifs that arise via post-translational modifications.

Research Interest

All projects in our group are focused around the chemical synthesis of architecturally interesting molecules that have biological and/or medicinal significance. Our group is engaged in mainstream, modern organic synthesis, with an emphasis on peptides and glycopeptides. Target molecules typically contain peptide/protein motifs that arise from post-translational modifications (PTMs) or non-ribosomal peptide synthesis (NRPS). Our major area of research to-date has been the synthesis and incorporation of hydroxylated prolines into peptides. Using NMR, we have studied the effect of proline hydroxylation on peptide conformation. We have synthesized the repeating decapeptide (Fig. 1) of an adhesive protein produced by Mytilus edulis. In concert with a family of related proteins, Mefp1 mediates adhesion of mussels to rocks in turbulent waters.