The importance of protein dynamics for kinase activation and inhibitor design: the case of ERK2

2021-04-20 – Dr. Natalie Ahn – The importance of protein dynamics for kinase activation and inhibitor design: The case of ERK2

Dr. Natalie Ahn received her Ph.D. from U. California, Berkeley where she studied mechanistic enzymology in the lab of Judith Klinman at UC Berkeley. She carried out postdoctoral studies at U. Washington with Edwin Krebs, where she was among the first to describe the MAP kinases, also known as ERKs, and the first to describe the mammalian MAP kinase kinases (aka MKKs or MEKs). She has led an independent research program at the University of Colorado, Boulder since 1992, where she is now Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the Graduate Training Program in Signaling and Cellular Regulation. Her research investigates enzymatic and cellular mechanisms underlying cell signaling through B-Raf/MKK/ERK and Wnt5a pathways, and mechanisms for the allosteric activation of protein kinases. She is a pioneer in the application of functional proteomics and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry technologies to signal transduction research.