This information is then used to build new resources and technologies that will provide the researcher better access to the information they need and better tools to analyze their data. Chris is the coordinator for the PKR, which is a collection of data resources and tools that can be used by researchers studying a special class of proteins called protein kinases. A protein kinase is a type of enzyme. This process of change is critical to almost all biological processes. For example, a plant needs air, water and sun to grow.
Enzymes are what allows the plant to use the air, water and sun's energy for growth.
So when enzymes cannot function the way they are supposed to, the plant gets sick or can die. This applies to all living organisms, from bacteria to giant Sequoia trees. For example, we all know that plants use carbon dioxide at night, and give off oxygen during the day. Well, it's phosphorylation of key enzymes, by protein kinases, that controls this diurnal process. Chris earned his B.S. degree in Genetics from the University of California at Davis , his M.S. in Plant Biology from Cal State Long Beach , and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Nebraska .