Endowed Wake Forest 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
2020 URECA Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentorship in Research
2018-2021 Robert & Debra Lee Faculty Fellowship
2018-2019 Freiburg Institute for Advanced Sciences Fellow
2013-2016 Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Faculty Fellowship
2013 Faculty Excellence in Research Award, Wake Forest University
2011 NSF CAREER Award
2010 Outstanding Recent Alumna of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech