McNair Scholar 2024 - Hannah J Meyers
Hannah Meyers is a senior at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, majoring in biochemistry and minoring in chemistry. Her current research interests are protein engineering and phage display. Ms. Meyers plans pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology.
Quote from Hannah Meyers
My dream is to continue pursuing my scientific curiosities
Research project
Developing Inhibitors of CDK5 using Phage-Displayed Peptide aptamers Hannah J Meyers
Abstract
Cyclin Dependent Kinase 5 (CDK5) is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase activated by non-cyclin binding partners p35 and p25. The physiological activation and localization of CDK5 is guided by p35, a membrane-anchored protein. Activation by p35 is required for neuronal development and differentiation. The interaction of p25, a cleavage product of p35, results in the pathological hyperactivation of CDK5 implicated in Alzheimer's disease. To date, no major topological differences in the binding interactions of CDK5/p35/p25 have been reported; thus, hindering inhibitor development that is specific to CDK5/p25. We explore the potential of Pyrococcus furiosus thioredoxin (PfTrx) as a peptide aptamer scaffold to evolve p25-specific binders via phage display. The PfTrx construct tolerates peptide insertions within its active site, generating a disulfide-bridged constrained loop. The mutagenized libraries will undergo plate-based selections to screen for p25-specific binders. The phage derived p25-specific binders will be assayed for inhibition of aberrant CDK5/p25 following selections.
Faculty mentor
Dr. Laurie L. Parker is currently Professor & Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education in the Department of Biochemistry Molecular Biology and Biophysics at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Parker received her Ph. D. in Synthetic and Organic Chemistry at the University of Glasgow in Scotland in 2003. Her research focuses on the development of substrate specificity profiles of tyrosine kinases as well as assay development to improve inhibitor screens.