Faculty Profiles

Katherine J. Franz
Katherine J. Franz
Chair of the Department of Chemistry
Office: 
2103 French Science Center, 124 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708
Phone: 
(919) 660-1541
katherine.franz@duke.edu
Franz Research Group
Research Interests: 

Research in the Franz group is involved in elucidating the structural and functional consequences of metal ion coordination in biological systems. We are particularly interested in understanding the coordination chemistry utilized by biology to manage essential yet toxic species like copper and iron. Understanding these principles further guides our development of new chemical tools to manipulate biological metal ion location, speciation, and reactivity for potential therapeutic benefit. We use a combination of synthesis, spectroscopy, and biochemistry in our work. Please visit our group website to learn more about our research.

Overview

Education:

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2000

B.A., Wellesley College 1995

Research Areas:
Biomolecular Structure and Function, Inorganic

Tangen, Espen, et al. “Electronic structure of a paramagnetic {MNO}6 complex: MnNO 5,5-tropocoronand..” Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 49, no. 6, Mar. 2010, pp. 2701–05. Epmc, doi:10.1021/ic901860x. Full Text

Hyman, Lynne M., et al. “Toward the development of prochelators as fluorescent probes of copper-mediated oxidative stress..” Dalton Transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003), no. 2, Jan. 2010, pp. 568–76. Epmc, doi:10.1039/b914568k. Full Text

Dickens, Marina G., and Katherine J. Franz. “A prochelator activated by hydrogen peroxide prevents metal-induced amyloid Beta aggregation..” Chembiochem : A European Journal of Chemical Biology, vol. 11, no. 1, Jan. 2010, pp. 59–62. Epmc, doi:10.1002/cbic.200900597. Full Text

Crider, Sarah E., et al. “Coordination of platinum therapeutic agents to met-rich motifs of human copper transport protein1..” Metallomics : Integrated Biometal Science, vol. 2, no. 1, Jan. 2010, pp. 74–83. Epmc, doi:10.1039/b916899k. Full Text Open Access Copy

Haas, Kathryn L., and Katherine J. Franz. “Application of metal coordination chemistry to explore and manipulate cell biology..” Chemical Reviews, vol. 109, no. 10, Oct. 2009, pp. 4921–60. Epmc, doi:10.1021/cr900134a. Full Text

Palmer, Amy E., and Katherine J. Franz. “Introduction to "cellular metal homeostasis and trafficking"..” Chemical Reviews, vol. 109, no. 10, Oct. 2009, pp. 4533–35. Epmc, doi:10.1021/cr900293t. Full Text

Charkoudian, Louise K., et al. “Iron prochelator BSIH protects retinal pigment epithelial cells against cell death induced by hydrogen peroxide..” Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, vol. 102, no. 12, Dec. 2008, pp. 2130–35. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2008.08.001. Full Text

Ciesienski, Katie L., et al. “A photolabile ligand for light-activated release of caged copper..” Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 130, no. 37, Sept. 2008, pp. 12246–47. Epmc, doi:10.1021/ja8047442. Full Text

Tesema, Yohannes T., et al. “Counterions influence reactivity of metal ions with cysteinyldopa model compounds..” Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 47, no. 3, Feb. 2008, pp. 1087–95. Epmc, doi:10.1021/ic701889w. Full Text

Franz, Katherine J. “Copper shares a piece of the pi..” Nature Chemical Biology, vol. 4, no. 2, Feb. 2008, pp. 85–86. Epmc, doi:10.1038/nchembio0208-85. Full Text

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