Brett Boghigian

I am an undergraduate at [1] Tufts working in Blaine Pfeifer's lab.

Lab Work

I am currently working on enhancing and optimizing the biosynthesis of 6-deoxyerythronolide B (6-dEB), precursor to the potent antibiotic erythromycin, through Escherichia coli. This work combines principles of molecular biology and biochemical process engineering. I am working with a new New Brunswick BioFlo 110 Bioreactor for large-scale production of 6-dEB and a new Agilent 1100 series HPLC (high performance liquid chromatograph) equipped with an Alltech 800 series ELSD (evaporative light scattering detector) for analysis. I am also developing a new high-throughput method for analyzing our bacterial system using my previous studies in the field of proteomics (global protein production within a given cell). In collaboration with PerkinElmer Life & Analytical Sciences, we will use various techniques and instruments (2D-PAGE, fluorescent imaging, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, and others) to examine the proteome of engineered versus native E. coli. Proteomic analysis will reveal which native proteins play a key role during natural product biosynthesis and will give insight into the molecular and cellular aspects to be engineered for further enhanced biosynthesis.

Academic & Research Interests

My academic and research interests lie in integrating molecular biology and biochemistry with engineering techniques for a broad-range of clinical applications. Specific interests and current projects:

• Natural product biosynthesis: Cellular and process engineering of Escherichia coli for biosynthesis of complex medicinal compounds
• Metabolic engineering: High-throughput proteomics and "omics" technologies aiding in the fields of metabolic and cellular engineering
• Systems biology: The development of high-throughput tools and methodologies for examining systems from the systems to the cellular to the molecular level
• Tissue engineering: Drug delivery systems to promote angiogenesis in engineered tissues and cardiac tissue engineering
• Philosophy: Biological macromolecular evolution and philosophy of molecular biology

Personal

I am an undergraduate pursuing a bachelor's of science in chemical engineering with a second major of biomedical engineering. I am also minoring in philosophy. If not evident from my native accent, I grew up in a suburb of Boston: Bedford, MA and attended Bedford High School. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, watching movies (The Godfather and Scarface, in particular), watching the Patriots and Red Sox, playing sports (tennis, golf, ping-pong, running, baseball, and basketball), and listening to music.