Reflections
The Tryptophan Synthase α2β2 Complex: A Model for Substrate Channeling, Allosteric Communication, and Pyridoxal Phosphate Catalysis
I reflect on my research on pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) enzymes over fifty-five years and on how I combined research with marriage and family. My Ph.D. research with Esmond E. Snell established one aspect of PLP enzyme mechanism. My postdoctoral work first with Hans L. Kornberg and then with Alton Meister characterized the structure and function of another PLP enzyme, l-aspartate β-decarboxylase. My independent research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1966 has focused on the bacterial tryptophan synthase α2β2 complex.Neutrons, Magnets, and Photons: A Career in Structural Biology
The purpose of Reflections articles, it seems, is to give elderly scientists a chance to write about the “good old days,” when everyone walked to school in the snow. They enjoy this activity so much that your editor, Martha Fedor, must have known that I would accept her invitation to write such an article, no matter how much I demurred at first. As everyone knows, flattery will get you everywhere. It may comfort the apprehensive reader to learn that there is not going to be much walking to school in the snow in this story.Mrs. Professor
She should be fired —anonymous student evaluation
