The Thompson Lab

Heather Rust


Heather is investigating possible mechanisms of regulation of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1), as well as developing potent inhibitors for the enzyme.

Christina Dreyton


Christina is a native of South Carolina and completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of South Carolina. She is a ballet and contemporary dance enthusiast and in her spare time attends multiple productions.
 
Christina’s current thesis research focuses on Protein Arginine Deiminase 2 (PAD2), an isozyme within the PAD family. Her thesis research consists of mechanistic studies of PAD2 using classical enzymology and combinatorial biochemical techniques for the determination of PAD2’s role in gene transcription, protein-protein interactions and cancer in vivo.

Venkat Subramanian


Venkat’s work mainly focuses on the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel inhibitors for the Protein Arginine Deiminase family of enzymes.  PADs are involved in a posttranslational modification called citrullination and overexpression of these enzymes is responsible for various diseases including rheumatoid arthritis.  Venkat has also designed and synthesized novel chemical probes to detect protein citrullination, as well as new inhibitors for the protein arginine methyl transferases (PRMTs), protein tyrosine phosphatases, and arginine phosphatases. 

Dan Lewallen


Dan works on the AMPylator proteins. His research focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of these enzymes to better be able to design potential inhibitors which may have therapeutic use.

Kate Clancy


Kate is currently researching PRMT1-catalyzed methylation of arginine residues in kinase consensus sequences.  She is also investigating crosstalk between these two posttranslational modifications as a potential regulatory mechanism for cell signaling and transcription.
 
Kate moved to Scripps in 2012 after finishing her PhD at Duke University.  She is enjoying life in Florida, particularly the year-round sunshine.

Daniel Slade


Daniel's research focuses on the structure and function of the human protein arginine deiminases (PADs), and their role in several diseases including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.  I am using protein crystallography to understanding the role of calcium in the activation and regulation of this enzyme family. "

Min Wang

Min's research is focused on the kinetic and catalytic mechanism study of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase5.  These works may provide guidance for the development for PRMT5 inhibitors for cancer therapy.  He is also interested in the interaction between PRMT5 and it's binding partners MEP50 and the effect of binding MEP50 on the function of PRMT5.

Jakob Fuhrmann


Jakob graduated from the institute of molecular pathology (IMP), Vienna, Austria. My current projects focus on the biochemical characterization of novel phosphatase inhibitors. I am supported by an European Molecular Biology Organization long-term fellowship.