Leconte Group awarded NIH grant to engineer improved luciferases

Associate Professor of Chemistry Aaron Leconte received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop new, faster methods to understand and modify luciferase. In Nature, luciferase is the enzyme that causes fireflies to glow; in the lab, luciferase allows the tracking and understanding of how cells behave in complex living systems. This new work has potential to expand the scope and applications of luciferase and enable new research in human diagnostics and treatments. Over the next three years, the $362,752 award will fund twelve summer research internships for Keck students, materials for the research, and a high-powered macroscope for imaging live cells.