Brett Boghigian
Contact Information
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Tufts University
Science & Technology Center
4 Colby Street
Medford, MA 02155
Lab/Desk: (SciTech 286) 617.627.2685
Fax: 617.627.3991
E-mail: brett [dot] boghigian [at] tufts [dot] edu
Education
- 2007-present Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Tufts University
- 2003-2007 B.S. Chemical Engineering (philosophy minor), Tufts University
Research Interests
My research and academic interests are in: metabolic engineering, natural products, molecular biology, computational systems biology, analytical proteomics and metabolomics, bioreactor engineering, and protein purification. Although they are not topics of my research, I am interested in the philosophy of molecular biology and evolution, as well as alternative fuel technology.
Publications
(* indicates co-first author. † indicates undergraduate author)
- Meng H*, Boghigian BA*, Wang Y, Pfeifer BA, Zhang S, Wang X. In silico analysis and comparison of the two terpenoid precursor supply pathways 2010. In preparation.
- Boghigian BA*, Wang Y*, Salas DF†, Ajikumar PK, Stephanopoulos G, Pfeifer BA. Genetic and process strategies for improved heterologous taxadiene production in K- and B-derived Escherichia coli. 2010. In preparation.
- Wu J, Boghigian BA, Myint M†, Zhang H, Pfeifer BA. Construction and performance of heterologous polyketide producing K- and B-derived Escherichia coli. 2009. Submitted.
- Boghigian BA, Shi H, Pfeifer BA, Lee K. Utilizing elementary mode analysis, pathway thermodynamics, and a genetic algorithm for metabolic flux determination and optimal metabolic network design. 2009. Submitted.
- Boghigian BA, Seth G, Kiss R, Pfeifer BA. Metabolic flux analysis and pharmaceutical production. Metab Eng. 2010 Mar;12(2):81-95.
- Zhang H, Boghigian BA, Pfeifer BA. Investigating the role of native propionyl-CoA and methylmalonyl-CoA metabolism on heterologous polyketide production in Escherichia coli. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2010 Feb 15;105(3):567-73.
- Boghigian BA, Lee K, Pfeifer BA. Computational analysis of phenotypic space in heterologous polyketide biosynthesis – applications to Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Theor Biol. 2010 Jan 21;262(2):197-207.
- Zhang H, Wang Y, Boghigian BA, Pfeifer BA. Probing the heterologous metabolism supporting 6-deoxyerythronolide B biosynthesis in E. coli. Microbial Biotechnol. 2009 May;2(3):390-4.
- Boghigian BA, Pfeifer BA. Current status, strategies, and potential for the metabolic engineering of heterologous polyketides in Escherichia coli. Biotechnol Lett. 2008 Aug;30(8):1323-30. Review.
- Wang Y*, Boghigian BA*†, Pfeifer BA. Improving heterologous polyketide production in Escherichia coli by overexpression of an S-adenosylmethionine synthetase gene. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2007 Nov;77(2):367-73.
- 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.
- 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. 2004 Oct;3(10):S301.
Recognition
- 2009 – Outstanding Graduate Contributor to Engineering Education Award, Tufts University School of Engineering
- 2008 – Best Teaching Assistant Award, Tufts University Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
- 2007 – Best Presentation Award, Tufts University Undergraduate Research Symposium
- 2006 – Outstanding Chemical Engineering Student at Tufts University, Boston Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Work Experience
- May05–present – Pfeifer Lab, Chemical & Biological Engineering, Tufts University (Medford, MA)
- May07–Aug07 – Wyeth BioPharma, Purification Process Development (Andover, MA)
- Sep04–May05 – Kaplan Lab, Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University (Medford, MA)
- Jun04–Sep04 – PerkinElmer Life & Analytical Sciences, Biochemistry (Boston, MA)
- May04–Aug04 – Noelle Industries, Process Manufacturing (Billerica, MA)
- A lot more you don't care about
Teaching Experience
(all at Tufts University)
- Spring 2009 – CHBE24B – Senior Projects Laboratory, Teaching Assistant for Prof. David R. Vinson
- Fall 2008 – CHBE24A – Senior Projects Laboratory, Teaching Assistant for Prof. David R. Vinson
- Spring 2008 – CHBE168 – Biotechnology Process Projects Laboratory, Teaching Assistant for Prof. Hyunmin Yi
- Spring 2008 – CHBE24B – Senior Projects Laboratory, Teaching Assistant for Prof. Blaine A. Pfeifer
- Fall 2007 – CHBE10 – Thermodynamics & Process Calculations I, Guest Lecturer for Prof. Blaine A. Pfeifer
- Fall 2007 – CHBE24A − Senior Projects Laboratory, Teaching Assistant for Prof. Blaine A. Pfeifer
- Fall 2006 – EN3 – Introduction to Biotechnology Engineering, Guest Lecturer for Prof. David L. Kaplan
Personal
I was born in Cambridge, MA and grew up in a suburb of Boston: Bedford, MA and attended Bedford High School. I graduated with a B.S. in chemical engineering and a minor in philosophy from Tufts University in May of 2007. After a summer working in purification process development at Wyeth BioPharma (now Pfizer, I started the M.S. program in chemical engineering in our department in the fall of 2007. After a short stint in that program, I entered the Ph.D. program in chemical engineering. In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, watching movies (from Kubrick and Coppola to Bergman and Fellini), watching Boston sports (Pats, Sox, C's, but not really the B's), listening to music (from Lil' Wayne to Led Zeppelin to Johnny Cash), and playing sports (golf, tennis, basketball, and baseball).
Links
Press
- Article/Picture in the Tufts Daily (3/13/06) - 2006 Undergraduate Research Symposium
- On the CHBE Department website
Labs of Interest
- Gregory Stephanopoulos (MIT)
- Jay Kesling (UC Berkeley)
- Bernhard Palsson (UC San Diego)
- James Liao (UC Los Angeles)
- Yi Tang (UC Los Angeles)
- Chaitan Khosla (Stanford)
- George Church (Harvard)
- Christopher Walsh (Harvard)
- Costas Maranas (Penn State)
