Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences

Education:

• Ph.D. Chemistry, Emory University (Atlanta, GA), 2015
  • Mentor: Dr. Brian Dyer 
  • His graduate work focused on fundamental questions about how enzymes function. Specifically, he was interested in the role that conformational changes in enzymes’ protein structures play in catalysis. To accomplish this work, he developed instrumentation to observe these fast processes utilizing various laser-based spectroscopic techniques.
• B.S. Chemistry; Furman University (Greenville, SC), 2009
  • Mentor: Dr. Jeff Petty 
  • Performed biophysical chemistry research on the structure of trinucleotide repeat sequences associated with certain genetic disorders

Professional Experience:

• Postgraduate work at Vanderbilt University 
  • Mentor: Dr. F. Peter Guengerich.  
  • His work focused on how human cytochrome P450 enzymes metabolize natural steroids.
• Dr. Reddish joined the department of chemistry at Appalachian State University in 2019
  • He teaches classes in Biochemistry, Analytical, and Introductory Chemistry.

Website:
https://sites.google.com/appstate.edu/reddish-lab/home

Research/Interests: 

Current research projects in the Reddish lab utilize biochemical, analytical, and spectroscopic techniques to investigate steroid enzymology. The Reddish lab is particularly interested in trying to understand how regions of an enzyme’s structure far away from the active site of the enzyme, so-called allosteric sites, contribute to catalysis. The current approach for these investigations is to study how cytochrome P450 enzymes interact with their redox partner proteins. We are investigating how human cytochrome P450 27A1 (sterol 27-hydroxylase) interacts with its redox partner adrenodoxin. This enzyme is known to play a role in cholesterol and vitamin D metabolism. It is also believed that P450 27A1 can contribute to the development of some cancers. We hope that with a better understanding of how allosteric sites contribute to enzyme catalysis, medical treatments that target enzymes and enzyme-based industrial catalysts can be more optimally produced. Undergraduate research students in the lab utilize techniques including recombinant protein expression & purification, enzyme kinetics, optical spectroscopy, and HPLC-UV-MS.

Interested students are encouraged to contact Dr. Reddish to inquire about working in the lab.