Professor
Department Associate Chair
Office: Wake Downtown, Rm. 2818
Phone: (336) 702-1944
Email: dossanpc@wfu.edu
Education
B.S., 1999, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil)
Ph.D., 2004, Virginia Tech
Postdoctoral Associate, 2005-2008, Virginia Tech (Dennis Dean)
Research Description
Iron and sulfur atoms can form chemical structures of biological importance named [Fe-S] clusters. The importance of Fe-S clusters is intimately associated with the essential role of Fe-S proteins in a wide range of life sustaining processes including respiration, carbon metabolism, photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation. These chemical structures are organized in fundamental units of [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters, or multimers, or fragments of these units. Although [Fe-S] clusters can be formed in vitro from their toxic individual components, almost all forms of life have developed specialized machineries dedicated to the assembly of these metal-centers. Our research group is interested in understanding the biochemical formation of [Fe-S] clusters in Gram-positive bacteria.
Publications
Awards and Accomplishments
NSF CAREER Award 2011-2016
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Faculty Fellowship 2013
Faculty Excellence in Research Award, WFU 2013
Outstanding Recent Alumna of the College of Agriculture and Life Science, Virginia Tech,2010