SunnyLand Positions
Open Positions
- Synthetic Organic Chemistry
- Protein Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry
- Protein Biochemistry and Enzymology
SunnyLand Research Background
Several research positions are immediately available in Professor Sunny Zhou's laboratory at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. The research in our laboratory is in chemical biology, organic chemistry, protein chemistry, biochemistry, mechanistic enzymology, and bioanalytical chemistry. Current projects center on two areas at the interface of chemistry and biology. The first area focuses on mechanistic study of and inhibitor design for biologically important enzymes. We are currently studying the bacterial enzyme LuxS, which plays a pivotal role in bacterial quorum sensing, biofilm formation, virulence regulation, and metabolism. Absent in humans, the LuxS enzyme is an attractive target for anti-infective agent development. This work is supported by a 5-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, NIH). The second area involves characterization of protein post-translational modifications and selective derivatization of proteins. More specifically, we are interested in protein methylations. S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methylations result in a myriad of crucial biological functions. We are devising new methods to detect and quantify such modifications. This work is supported by a 5-year grant from the Herman Frasch Foundation.
For more information about the group, please visit www.wsu.edu/~chembio. Successful applicants may be appointed at different levels, including post-doctoral fellow, visiting scholar, technician, or graduate student. Please send curriculum vitae, transcript (unofficial copy suffices), list of publications, contact information for three references, and a detailed description of research experience by e-mail to sunnyz@wsu.edu or by mail to:
Dr. Sunny Zhou
466 Fulmer Hall
Department of Chemistry
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-4630
U.S.A.
Research Opportunities for Undergraduates
Undergraduate students who are committed to active and independent research are always welcome to Sunnyland. All undergraduate students will work directly and closely under the direction of Dr. Zhou. In the past, all undergraduate students in Dr. Zhou’s lab received summer support and published in peer-reviewer journals. For those without extensive research experience, a commitment of at least one year of continuous research is required (typically 10 to 15 hours per week during school year and full-time during summer). For more details, please first visit the Sunnyland at www.wsu.edu/~chembio. Then, please send your curriculum vitae, transcript (unofficial copy suffices) your major and future plan (e.g., attending graduate school or medical school) to sunnyz@wsu.edu, or drop things off at Dr. Zhou’s office in 466 Fulmer Hall.