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Rachel Chen
Associate Professor
Contact Information
Building: Ford ES&T
Office:
1218
Phone: 404.894.1255
Fax: 404.894.2866
email
Mailing Address
Georgia Institute of Technology
School of Chemical &
Biomolecular Engineering
311 Ferst Drive, N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30332-0100
Links
Current Research Projects
Metabolic Engineering of Agrobacterium sp for Sugar Nucleotide Cofactor Regeneration
By modifying the genome of an Agrobacterium sp. strain through deleting and introducing selected genes, the metabolic network of the organism is re-structured and tailored for efficient sugar nucleotide recycling. Such metabolic system is useful in enzymatic synthesis of oligosaccharides by providing the necessary building blocks in the sugar assembly process. Cancer vaccines and anti-vial drugs are just two of innumerous applications of synthetic oligosaccharides.
Modulating Cellular Membrane Permeability for Accelerated Whole-Cell Biocatalysis
For a catalytic reaction to proceed at a maximal possible rate, the transport characteristics of reactants (substrates) should not impede the reaction. Unfortunately, many whole-cell-catalyzed reactions are severely limited by mass (substrate) transfer across cellular membrane. Pioneering a molecular engineering approach to the problem, Dr. Chen's group is addressing the common, formidable problem by genetically modifying cellular membrane structure. Up to 10-fold acceleration in reaction rate was observed with this approach.
Directed Evolution for Cellulose Modification
In a project sponsored by an industrial partner, Dr. Chen's group is resorting to Directed Evolution, a powerful protein engineering technique mimicking natural evolution, in creating an enzyme that catalyzes specific modification of cellulose.
Environmentally Benign Synthesis of Vanilla Flavor, Vanillin
Dr. Chen's group has discovered several enzymes useful in vanillin synthesis from renewable sources. Her team is applying Chemistry, Biology and Engineering in developing a bioprocess to derive natural Vanillin from corn kernel skin or other agriculture residues.