Abstract
This project utilizes chemical tools in order to study biological systems. We can engineer human cells to build proteins using an expanded set of amino acids, beyond those that are naturally available to the cells. We specifically use this approach (which is called
genetic code expansion) to produce human proteins that are challenging or impossible to produce with traditional techniques. Once we have expressed these proteins, we can then study how they function and what role they play in human biology. Specifically, we will be studying human selenoproteins, which are currently poorly understood, but are suspected to play a role in redox regulation within a cell.