Heather Mayes

Biography

  Education: Northwestern University PhD Chemical Engineering 2015 University of Illinois at Chicago BS Chemical Engineering 2007 Positions Held at U-M: Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering Department (2017- ) Affiliate, Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering (2017- ) Positions Held Elsewhere: Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (2015-2016) Consultant, Jacobs Consultancy, Chicago, IL (2007-2010)

Research Interest

Using multiscale modeling to understand protein-sugar interactions and harness them for renewable energy and improved health. Nature has evolved a wide range of proteins responsible for storing energy in carbohydrates, transporting them, and cleaving their bonds to release energy, each exquisitely tuned to the unique stereochemistry of different sugars. These sugars also modify protein structure and function through post-translational attachment carbohydrates to proteins, with varied effects based on glycan composition and binding location. The study of carbohydrate-protein interactions is industrially important for efforts to harness biotechnology to create renewable fuels and chemicals from non-food biomass. Applications of this research also include human health, as defects in carbohydrate-active enzymes and protein glycosylation are implicated in human diseases including cancer, muscular dystrophy, and autoimmune disorders. My group uses computational tools to probe these interactions at a wide range of length and time scales to answer questions ranging from fundamental understanding to industrial feasibility. We employ computational chemistry tools including quantum mechanics (QM), molecular dynamics (MD), and rare-event sampling methods to uncover fundamental understandings of protein-carbohydrate structure-function relationships, opening opportunities for rational design of enzymes and diagnostic tools. Collaborating with experimental groups, we aim to understand past and guide future wet-lab studies to advance renewable chemicals and fuels as well as health.