Howard Lu Graduate Student B.S. University of Hong Kong 2005

Mr. Lu is starting his second year in graduate school. His project involves Francisella Tularensis is classified as a category A priority pathogen by NIAID due to the high level of infectivity and its ability to be aerosolized. There is an urgent need to develop antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action for treatment of tularemia. The goal of his project is to characterize the FabI enzyme from Francisella Tularensis, which is involved in the Fatty Acid Synthesis II Pathway, and synthesize diphenyl ether-based triclosan analogues, which may act as novel inhibitors for the enzyme.