Email
fbrownewell@wpi.edu
Education
Postdoc Chemistry Stanford University
PhD Chemistry University of Vermont
I have enjoyed a blended career spanning research and development, heavy chemicals manufacturing, healthcare single use manufacturing, and academia. This experience has provided a unique interface between the theoretical and the practical. I understand the need for innovation and invention coupled with manufacturability. I bring this perspective to the classroom and the projects I engage.
My research interests span the interface between organic chemistry and biological function. I am interested in synthetically modified amino acids and nucleic acids and incorporation of those structures within biopolymers. This fusion permits probing the non-bonded interactions between modified peptides, oligonucleic acids, and natural molecules of interest. Additionally, insight gained from these interaction can be leveraged to create new polymers with biologically relevant characteristics.
Research Interests
Biomimetic Structures
Modified Amino Acids
Modified Nucleic Acids
Non-bonded Interactions
Scholarly Work
DNA Bending at A Tracts Containing a Nonpolar Thymine Mimic, A. Maki, F.E. Brownewell, D. Liu, E.T. Kool, Nucleic Acids Research, 2002, 31(3), 1059.
The Phe-X-Glu DNA Binding Motif of MutS: The Role of Hydrogen Bonding in Mismatch Recognition, M.J. Schofield, F.E. Brownewell, S. Nayak, C. Du, E.T. Kool, P. Hsieh, J. Biol. Chem. 2001, 276(49), 45505.
Asymmetric Recognition of DNA Local Distortion: Structure-based Functional Studies of Eukaryotic msh2:msh6, K. Drotschmann, W. Yang, F.E. Brownewell, E.T. Kool, T.A. Kunkel, J. Biol. Chem. 2001, 276(49), 46225.
Stereoselective Alkylations of a Bicyclic Lactam Derived from Pyroglutamic Acid, R. Zhang, F.E. Brownewell, and J.S. Madalengoitia, Tetrahedron Lett. 1999, 40(14), 2707.
Pseudo-A(1, 3) Strain as a Key Conformational Control Element in the Design of Poly-L-proline Type II Peptide Mimics, R. Zhang, F.E. Brownewell, and J.S. Madalengoitia, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120(16), 3894.
Professional Affiliations