Bio

Unlocking Nature’s Chemistry Through Enzyme Discovery and Design

The Chang Lab investigates how enzymes catalyze complex chemical transformations in natural product biosynthesis and how these processes can be harnessed for therapeutic discovery. By integrating organic synthesis, biochemical assays, and molecular biology, the group seeks to understand enzyme function at a mechanistic level while expanding the known capabilities of biological catalysis. A central goal of this work is the development of chemo-enzymatic strategies to produce bioactive molecules and access chemical structures that are difficult to generate using traditional synthetic methods alone. Research efforts span three interconnected areas: chemo-enzymatic synthesis of biologically active compounds, mechanistic studies of enzymatic reactions, and gene mining and pathway engineering to uncover and reprogram biosynthetic systems. Together, this work advances fundamental understanding of enzyme chemistry while enabling new, sustainable approaches to molecule discovery and development.