Ian F. Thorpe, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Michael White, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
May Li, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Scott Johnson, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Nicole Carbonara, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Microalgae, single-celled organism similar to bacteria, can be used to generate biomass that can be employed as a source of fuels or chemical feedstock. For biomass to be useful in this context there must be high levels of lipid production. This project will endeavor to identify biological pathways which can be manipulated to increase lipid production in microalgae as well as specific protein targets in these pathways. Modeling and simulation approaches will be employed to identify ways to alter the properties of these proteins in a manner that increases lipid production in these organisms.