Vahe Bandarian - Department of Chemistry

BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

Professor

B.S., California State University-Los Angeles, 1992
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan

Phone: (801) 581-6366
Office: 3625 TBBC
Email: vahe@chem.utah.edu
Research Group

Research Interests

Our research focuses on unraveling the the molecular details of complex natural product pathways. Although our emphasis is currently on peptide-based natural products, we maintain a broader interest in the natural product biosynthetic pathways and investigate any interesting pathways.

Our laboratory conducts extensive investigations into enzyme-catalyzed transformations that are integral to natural product biosynthetic pathways. Bacteria generally cluster genes that encode biosynthetic pathways in clusters. In some cases, the end product of the pathway is known. In others, nothing is known about the natural products that are produced. We employ a variety of techniques to understand the molecular-level details of biosynthetic pathways.

The overall goals of our research are twofold. First, our research leads to the discovery of new enzymatic transformations and natural products. Second, we are always interested in leveraging our understanding of biosynthetic pathways towards developing tools that can be employed in drug discovery and chemical biology.

Interested in our research, check out our publications. Full texts can be accessed here.

We are currently funded by NIH and will be taking on rotators and students. If you are interested, please come and let me show you around the lab and talk about projects.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2003 - 2009 University of Arizona | Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics

2009 - 2015 University of Arizona | Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry*
* The Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics (BMB) and Chemistry merged in 2009 to form
the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (CBC).

2015 - Present University of Utah | Professor, Department of Chemistry

2019 - 2021 University of Utah | Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, Department of Chemistry

2021 - Present University of Utah | Associate Dean for Student Affairs, College of Science

AWARDS AND HONORS

Fellow of the American Chemical Society, 2023
Fellow of American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2023
Fellow of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), 2022
Distinguished Research Award (University of Utah), 2021
Co-Chair of Enzymes, Coenzymes and Metabolic Pathways Gordon Conference, 2013
Member of Faculty1000, Biocatalysis section, 2011
Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry (American Chemical Society), 2010
Everson Lecture (University of Wisconsin-Madison), 2010
Faculty Travel Award to present at the Enzyme Engineering Conference (Dalian, China), 2007
Honors College Dean's Outstanding Teacher Award (University of Arizona), 2006
Burroughs Wellcome Career award in Biomedical Sciences, 2002

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH AND SERVICE

Review of manuscripts:
Reviewer for Biochemistry, Chemical Reviews, Journal of the American Chemical
Society, Journal of Biological Chemistry, FASEB J, Nature, Nature Chemical Biology,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA
American Chemical Society
Chair, ACS Division of Biological Chemistry Program National Meeting
program, Fall and Spring 2016
Session Chair and Organizer, Rocky Mountain American Chemical Society
meeting, Tucson AZ, Fall 2006
Ad hoc reviewer, Petroleum Research Fund, 2005
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Member, JBC Editorial Board, 2013-2023
Co-Chair (with Martha Cyert, Stanford), ASBMB National meeting, 2022
Member, ASBMB Women in BMB Committee, 2019-present
Member, ASBMB Minority Affairs Committee, 2019-present
Mentor, ASBMB/NSF Junior faculty mentoring workshop, 2019
Mentor, ASBMB/NSF Junior faculty mentoring workshop, 2018
Mentor, ASBMB/NSF Junior faculty mentoring workshop, 2017
Mentor, ASBMB/NSF Junior faculty mentoring workshop, 2016
Mentor, ASBMB/NSF Junior faculty mentoring workshop, 2015
Mentor, ASBMB/NSF Junior faculty mentoring workshop, 2014
Mentor, ASBMB/NSF Junior faculty mentoring workshop, 2013
Member, ASBMB meeting committee, 2016
National Institutes of Health (NIH) reviewer*
Member, NIH SCORE Review Panel, 2020
Member, NIH SCORE Review Panel, 2018
Member, NIH MSF-A Study Section, 2017
Member, NIH MSF-E Study Section, 2011-2014
Member, NIH MSF-A Study Section, 2014-2015
(Note that MSF-A and MSF-E merged in 2014)
Ad hoc panelist, NIH MSF-E Study Section, October 2010
Ad hoc panelist, NIH MSF-E Study Section, February 2010
Mail reviewer, NIH MBRS Review Panel, November 2009
Ad hoc panelist, NIH MBRS Review Panel, March 2009
Ad hoc panelist, NIH MBRS Review Panel, March 2008
Ad hoc panelist, NIH MSF-E Study Section, January 2008
Ad hoc panelist, NIH MBRS Review Panel, September 2007
Ad hoc panelist, NIH MBRS Review Panel, March 2007
Ad hoc panelist, NIH Chemical and Biological Sciences study section, November
2006
Ad hoc panelist, NIH Chemical and Biological Sciences study section, July 2006
Ad hoc panelist, NIH MBRS Review Subcommittee B, June 2006
*MBRS and MSF denote Minority Biochemical Research Support, and
Macromolecular Structure and Function, respectively.
National Science Foundation reviewer
Ad hoc panelist, NSF Metabolic Biochemistry Panel, April 2011
Ad hoc panelist, NSF Metabolic Biochemistry Panel, April 2009
Protein Society:
Abstract Review Committee, Protein Society 2005, 2006

SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS

American Chemical Society

American Association for Advancement of Science

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

EDITORIAL BOARD

2013-2023 Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Biological Chemistry