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Shannen Cravens, PhD

Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry,
University of Pennsylvania


Education

2007-2011

BA, Chemistry, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA

2011-2016 PhD, Molecular Biophysics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
2016-present  Penn-PORT fellow, Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania
  • Research mentor: A. Joshua Wand, Ph.D; University of Pennsylvania

Research Topic: The Functionality of Dynamics in Disease-related Proteins

My research interests focus primarily on exploring the relationship between internal protein motion and the entropy it represents in a range of functional contexts including protein folding, enzyme catalysis and molecular recognition using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The three proteins I am focused on are p38α, parkin, and csy4. P38α is a MAP kinase that has shown potential for the treatment of inflammation exacerbated conditions including arthritis and pulmonary disease. Parkin is an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase that is implicated in mitophagy. Malfunction of parkin due to mutations and/or misfolding have been linked to autosomal recessive early onset Parkinsons Disease. Csy4 is an essential component of the Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) bacterial immune system that confers rapid resistance to foreign genetic elements. Csy4 recognizes a specific RNA sequence motif and serves as a nucleation site for a large protein complex, which uses the bound RNA to “read” invading genetic material and trigger its destruction. Identifying the dynamic changes these proteins undergo as they proceed through their functional interactions with other molecular species can shed light on the mechanistic basis for their specificity and efficiency. The identity of cooperatively dynamic regions of protein structure can also be used as therapeutic targets.

Courses Taught

  • AS.030.112 Chemistry with Problem Solving, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Teaching Interests

My primary interest is in teaching undergraduate level chemistry and biochemistry. At the introductory level, I would love to develop new, effective ways to teach general chemistry that is digestible for both dedicated STEM majors and non-majors. I believe my educational background would also allow me to comfortably teach an introductory level biochemistry class. My research interests could easily be tied to designing a course on DNA recognition, repair and its implications for cancer.

Publications

Journal Publications

  • Cravens, S.L., Stivers, J.T., “Comparative Effects of Ions, Molecular Crowding, and Bulk DNA on the Damage Search Mechanisms of hOGG1 and hUNG.” Biochemistry, 2016, 55 (37), 5230-5242.
     
  • Cravens, S.L., Schonhoft, J.D., Rowland, M.M., Rodriquez, A.A., Anderson, B.G., Stivers, J.T., “Molecular crowding enhances facilitated diffusion of two human DNA glycosylases,” Nucleic Acids Research, 2015, 43 (8), 4087-4097.
     
  • Cravens, S.L., Hobson, M., Stivers, J.T., “Electrostatic properties of complexes along a DNA glycosylase damage search pathway,” Biochemistry, 2014, 53 (48), 7680-7692.
     
  • Hansen, E. C., Seamon, K. J., Cravens, S. L., Stivers, J. T., "GTP activator and dNTP substrates of HIV-1 restriction factor SAMHD1 generate a long-lived activated state," PNAS, 2014, 11 (8), E1843-E1851.
     
  • Cravens, S.L.; Navapanich, A.C.; Geierstanger, B.H.; Tahmassebi, D.C.; Dwyer, T.J.; “NMR Solution Structure of a DNA-Actinomycin D Complex Containing a Non-Hydrogen Bonding Pair in the Binding Site”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2010, 132 (49), 17588-17598.

Contact info:

Shannen L. Cravens, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Biophysics & Biochemistry
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
423 Guardian Dr. Blockley Hall Room # G6
Philadelphia, PA 19104

E-mail: scravens@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

           

 

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