The major research interests in my laboratory are related to protein structure and function and the relationship between these two important properties of proteins.
Protein toxins from snake venoms are currently under investigation.
Similar techniques for purification and characterization of the protein components in interest apply to each toxin. This common thread provides a basis for interaction between personnel in my laboratory as well as other research groups in biochemistry and the life sciences. A major aspect of each research problem is the isolation of the component of interest in pure form from a complex mixture of proteins. Separation techniques for proteins include ion-exchange, gel filtration and affinity chromatography, perfusion chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography. Characterization of the purified proteins is accomplished by chemical and physical methods generally used in studies of proteins.