Amit Basu
Associate Professor:
Chemistry
Phone: 401 863 9897
Phone 2: 253 540 0698 (fax)
abasu@brown.edu
Our group is interested in questions that lie at the interface of chemistry, biology, and materials science. Research in the group includes –glycochemistry and glycobiology; synthesis and application of novel polymers and nanomaterials; development of new sensors and diagnostic agents.
Biography
B.A., Reed College, 1992 (Advisor – Patrick McDougal)
Ph.D., University of llinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996 (Advisor – Peter Beak)
Post-doctoral training, Princeton University 1996-1999 (Advisor – Daniel Kahne)
Interests
The cell is a gated community, with walls and gates that are crucial to its integrity and survival. The cell membrane can in fact be considered a fourth biopolymer in addition to DNA/RNA, proteins, and polysaccharides. In contrast to the latter three macromolecules, the cell membrane is not held together by covalent bonds between individual monomeric building blocks. Instead, the membrane is a supramolecular polymer, comprised primarily of lipids held together by non-covalent interactions. While one of the most important functions of a biomembrane is to serve as a structural barrier, it is becoming increasingly clear that these bilayers are also active functional participants in transmembrane communication. Much of the cellular communication across this lipid wall occurs via membrane spanning receptor proteins and channels that function as gates. However, there are several examples of communications being transmitted in the absence of any obvious gate, such as several interactions of cell surface glycoconjugates. These non-canonical molecular recognition events have not been extensively studied to date, and they offer an opportunity to provide new insight into how cells interact and communicate with each other.
Research projects in my group at Brown focus on the molecular recognition and interactions of glycolipids at biomembrane interfaces. These studies integrate aspects of organic synthesis, biophysics, biochemistry, microbiology, and materials science, and provide a broad scientific training to students and coworkers in my research group.
Awards
Research Corporation Research Innovation Award, 2001
National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early CAREER Award, 2002
Mizutani Award in Glycoscience 2005
Affiliations
American Chemical Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Funded Research
National Science Foundation: "Glycolipid Interactions in Melanoma Adhesion"
