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| Douglas C. Cameron |
| Douglas C. Cameron Adjunct Professor |
| Primary Address:
E-mail: dc@khoslaventures.com |
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Secondary Address: Chief Scientific Officer, Khosla Ventures |
Living cells can be thought of as extremely sophisticated micron-scale chemical factories. A single cell can catalyze hundreds of different reactions, regulate and control reaction sequences involving dozens of enzymes, perform its own maintenance and replicate itself. The overall objective of my group is to understand how to most effectively use these remarkable "factories" in chemical processes. Our research can be divided into two interrelated parts: 1) understanding how to manipulate and control the cell itself, and 2) understanding how to maintain and control the environment in which the cell functions.
To be successful, a strong understanding of both chemical engineering and the biological sciences is needed. Most of the chemical engineering students in my group minor in biochemistry, bacteriology or genetics. In addition, I have an affiliate position in the molecular biology program that enables me to advise molecular biology graduate students.
Currently, much of our research is focused on one aspect of the manipulation and control of cells: metabolic pathway engineering (MPE) the analysis, design and construction of metabolic pathways. MPE has been called the "fourth wave" of biotechnology, following classical fermentation, recombinant protein production and protein engineering. MPE is of increasing importance for new biotechnological processes.
However, due to the complex interactions involved and our limited fundamental understanding of metabolic pathways, there are numerous unsolved problems and opportunities for innovation.
Consider the following generic example of MPE: the production of compound D from substrate A. First, enzymes capable of catalyzing the formation of D are identified, say by the pathway A'B'C'D.
Next, the required genes are isolated. The isolated genes are then transformed into a suitable host cell. Once in the host cell, the genes must be transcribed to mRNA's, the mRNA's must be translated into proteins, the proteins must have the proper activity and the pathway must function as a coordinated unit.
A cell cannot function properly unless it is provided with the proper environment. The method in which the environment is maintained greatly influences the economics of a biological process. Therefore, the other major area of research in my group is the development of methods for the efficient maintenance and control of the cell environment. Specific research areas include production of specialty and commodity chemicals and the use of selection and combinatorial processes.
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Copyright 2006 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System Date last modified: 10-Nov-2006 Content by: dc@khoslaventures.com Thank you for visiting http://www.engr.wisc.edu/che/faculty/cameron_douglas.html |
