Susan Miller, PhD

Professor Emeritus
Executive Committee Member
600 16th St, Rm S512B
UCSF Box 2280
San Francisco, CA 94158
United States

What I do

Broadly, I use a variety of biochemical and biophysical tools to investigate protein structure/function questions spanning the range of elucidating novel aspects of catalysis in individual enzymes to understanding the interactions of proteins within a pathway and how mutations influence flux through the pathway. Current work is focused on understanding how key enzymes and transport proteins of bacterial mercury detoxification pathways work individually, with each other, and with other host cell proteins to rapidly remove the toxic threat of organomercurials (such as Methyl-Hg) and mercuric ions from their environment.

Departmental research area

My research expertise

redox enzymology, mechanistic enzymology, flavoproteins, enzyme kinetics, protein structure/function, mercury biochemistry, mercury proteomics

Professional background

Biography

Broadly, we use a variety of biochemical and biophysical tools to investigate protein structure/function questions spanning the range of elucidating novel aspects of catalysis in individual enzymes to understanding the interactions of proteins within a pathway and how mutations influence flux through the pathway. Current work is focused on understanding how key enzymes and transport proteins of bacterial mercury detoxification pathways work individually, with each other, and with other host cell proteins to rapidly remove the toxic threat of organomercurials (such as Methyl-Hg) and mercuric ions from their environment.

Research keywords

  • Enzyme mechanisms emphasizing redox systems
  • protein-protein interactions
  • structure-function relationships of mechanisms of regulation and catalysis
  • Candida albicans
  • Mercury
  • Metals, Heavy
  • Mercury Compounds
  • Metallochaperones
  • Cysteine
  • Receptors, Estrogen
  • bacteria
  • DNA Transposable Elements
  • Lyases
  • Kinetics
  • Bacillus
  • Mercury Isotopes
  • Oxidoreductases
  • Fungal Proteins