Brett Boghigian
Contact Information
Brett Boghigian
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Tufts University
Science & Technology Center
4 Colby Street
Medford, MA 02155
Lab: (SciTech 286) 617.627.2685
Desk: (SciTech 284) 617.627.2585
Fax: 617.627.3991
E-mail: brett [dot] boghigian [at] tufts [dot] edu
Purification Process Development
Wyeth BioPharma
1 Burtt Road
Andover, MA 01810
Desk: G1001-01 (978.247.3167 or x3167)
Lab: A201
E-mail: boghigb [at] wyeth [dot] com
Lab Work
General Information
My research in our laboratory centers around the development of experimental and computational tools to better study engineered microorganisms and its application to our work with Escherichia coli. The overall goal of my projects is to develop means for getting more information from our research (for example, quantitative proteomic profiles) and using those tools for a more rational basis for biological engineering. In such, my work revolves around rather technology-driven projects. Having a working knowledge of the molecular biology and microbiology that underlies our laboratory, I am working to increase the throughput of and information gained in our analytics. Much of my work centers around proteomics, mass spectrometry (MS), high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to various detectors (ELS, UV, and RI), bioprocess engineering, and computational metabolic modeling. One of my projects is in collaboration with two former bosses of mine, Dr. Mary Lopez and Dr. Wayne Patton at PerkinElmer Life & Analytical Sciences, who specialize in analytical proteomics. Another one of my projects is in collaboration with Prof. Kyongbum Lee, in our department at Tufts, who specializes in metabolic engineering and bioinformatics. Luckily for me, I am also responsible for website maintenance and our lab’s (frequent) computer problems.
Projects
- Examining the effect of the introduction of the gene coding for the (S)-adenosylmethionine synthetase (SAMs) in engineered Escherichia coli on 6-deoxyerythronolide B biosynthesis.
- Proteomics aiding in natural product biosynthesis -- an application to Escherichia coli for enhancing 6-deoxyerythronolide B biosynthesis. Collaboration with Dr. Mary Lopez and Dr. Wayne Patton (PerkinElmer Life & Analytical Sciences)
- Metabolic flux analysis on heterologous biosynthesis of 6-deoxyerythronolide B in Escherichia coli. Collaboration with Prof. Kyongbum Lee (Tufts CHBE)
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publications:
* Scrivener E, Boghigian BA, Golenko E, Bogdanova A, Jackson P, Mikulskis A, Denoyer E, Courtney P, Lopez MF, Patton WF. Performance validation of an improved Xenon-arc lamp-based CCD camera system for multispectral imaging in proteomics. Proteomics. 2005 Nov;5(17):4354-66. (PubMed)
Abstracts:
* Stehmann C, Boghigian BA, Golenko E, Scrivener E, Patton WF, Lopez MF. A Xenon-arc lamp-based charge-coupled device (CCD) camera system for multispectral imaging in proteomics. Mol Cell Proteomics. (Abstract from HUPO (Human Proteome Organization) 3rd Annual World Congress) (Poster)
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. Specifically, I am interested in metabolic engineering, computational systems biology and bioinformatics, analytical proteomics and metabolomics, bioprocess and biochemical engineering, and tissue engineering.
Aside from true research interests, there are a few other fields which I try to keep up with in popular science: theoretical physics, computational biophysics, evolutionary biology and biomacromolecular evolution, philosophy of molecular biology, biomedical ethics, and more recently alternative fuel technology.
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, listening to music, and (given time) playing sports (tennis, golf, ping-pong, running, baseball, and basketball).
Links
About Me
- Article/Picture in the Tufts Daily (3/13/06) - 2006 Undergraduate Research Symposium
- On the CHBE Department website
Labs of Interest
- Kyongbum Lee (Tufts)
- Gregory Stephanopoulos (MIT)
- K. Dane Wittrup (MIT)
- Daniel I.C. Wang (MIT)
- Doug Lauffenburger (MIT)
- Drew Endy (MIT)
- Bruce Tidor (MIT)
- Eric Alm (MIT)
- Kelvin Lee (Cornell)
- Jay Kesling (UC Berkeley)
- Chaitan Khosla (Stanford)
- Vassily Hatzimanikatis (Northwestern)
- Christina Smolke (CalTech)
- Frances Arnold (CalTech)
- David Cane (Brown)
- George Whitesides (Harvard)
- Gavin MacBeath (Harvard)
- David Edwards (Harvard)
- George Church (Harvard)
- Christopher Walsh (Harvard)
