At a time when antibiotic resistant bacterial infections and cancer rates are reaching epidemic proportions, there is an urgent need to discover new therapeutic agents. It has been shown that biological pressures influence the structural diversity of compounds produced in nature and marine-derived microorganisms often contain specialized enzymes not found in their terrestrial counterparts. Thus, these specialized microorganisms serve as an ideal resource for drug discovery efforts and for the characterization of novel biosynthetic enzymes. Dr. Jaclyn Winter, Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Utah, uses natural processes to advance medicine. She and her group identify specialized enzymes that are found in some of the most remote areas of the Earth, including the Great Salt Lake, oceans, tropical forests and other areas of extreme temperatures. Thus, they are able to find enzymes that already exist in nature and can develop these enzymes for medicinal purposes where they can be engineered to enhance the efficacy of existing therapeutics or be used in the synthesis or semisynthesis of pharmaceutically important compounds. Therefore, Dr. Winter’s explorative chemistry is on the cusp of inspiring new therapeutic agents for cancer, and other diseases in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way.

Established in January 2015 and currently in its infancy, Dr. Winter’s lab has the potential to explore molecules that could shift the ways in which we treat patients. With a strong focus on natural products, or the specialized small molecules produced in nature, she and her developing team are confident that they will uncover hopeful inspiration for new therapeutic agents. These molecules possess exquisite chemical diversity calling attention to this exciting new front in the world of medicinal chemistry. In addition to finding new molecules, the natural products uncovered by Dr. Winter’s lab help to develop alternative approaches for producing these otherwise inaccessible molecules or derivatives. Particularly interested in the marine environment, which provides a nutrient-rich microhabitat and which differs greatly from terrestrial soil, Dr. Winter is elucidating molecules with unique metabolic capabilities that are able to survive and adapt to the constantly changing conditions associated with the marine environment.

Current research includes:

• Nature’s Blueprint: Dr. Winter is elucidating the biosynthetic blueprint that nature uses for assembling biologically active compounds in bacteria and fungi. By exploring molecules that are isolated in a marine environment, her lab is able to uncover novel bioactive molecules and enzymes that would not be encountered elsewhere.

• Reprogramming Molecules:  Dr. Winter manipulates and reprograms biosynthetic systems to generate new compounds with enhanced biological activities. By asking “how does nature make it?,” she and her team are able to create biological catalysts that have similar properties. Additionally, if a compound is found to be a helpful target for therapeutics, she can then study how to make the compound in larger quantities in a safe and sustainable way.

• Environmental Impact: Dr. Winter is exploring the functional roles these molecules serve the producing organism, as well as their impact on the environment. She develops individual enzymes that carry out complicated reactions into renewable and environmentally friendly ways that are likely to have an important impact on the future of biomedical research.