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CURRICULUM VITAE

LAB: Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Koh Group
University of Delaware; Brown Research Lab
Newark, DE 19716
Lab: (302) 831-1738
Fax: (608) 831-6335
Email: biggins -at- chem.udel.edu


EDUCATION:
Cornell University and Sloan-Kettering Institute
Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences , New York, NY
2003: Ph.D.,Pharmacology

Thesis: "The Mechanism of CalC – a Protein Conferring Self-Resistance to the Antitumor Antibiotic Calicheamicin within Micromonospora echinospora ssp. calichensis."

Fordham University, Bronx, NY
1994: B.S., Chemistry
1993: B.S., Psychology


RESEARCH ACTIVITIES:
2003-Present : Damon Runyon-Robert Black Postdoctoral Fellow; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; University of Delaware Advisor: John T. Koh, Ph.D.

1997-2003: PhRMA Predoctoral Fellow; Laboratory for Biosynthetic Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2001-2002); Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (1997-2001). Advisor: Jon S. Thorson, Ph.D.

1995-1997: Laboratory Technician; Dept. of Chemistry (Organic Lab), Fordham University

1993-1994: Undergraduate Research Assistant; Dept. of Chemistry (Organic Lab), Fordham University

1993: Summer Research Intern; New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (Westchester Div.); Bourne Behavioral Research Laboratory


HONORS AND AWARDS:
2005-2008: Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation; Robert Black Fellowship Award

2005: PhRMA Foundation; Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pharmacology/Toxicology (personally declined)

2004: Cornell University, Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences; Julian R. Rachele Prize

2003: Gordon Research Conference; Bioorganic Chemistry: Pfizer Prize

2001-2002: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation; Fellowship for Advanced Predoctoral Training in Pharmacology and Toxicology

2001: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Frank Lappin Horsfall, Jr. Fellowship

2001: Cornell University; Vincent duVigneaud Memorial Symposium: Vincent duVigneaud Prize

2000: Cornell University; Vincent duVigneaud Memorial Symposium: Vincent duVigneaud Prize

1993: New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (Westchester Div.); Bourne Behavioral Research Laboratory, Summer Research Intern

1992-1993: Fordham University; Honors Program in Psychology


PUBLICATIONS (subscriptions needed for some downloads):

16. Biggins, J.B, Hashimoto, A., and Koh, J.T. (2006) “Photo-Caged Agonist for Mutated Nuclear Hormone Receptor Associated with Vitamin D Resistant Rickets: Implications for Spatio-Temporal Gene Patterning.” In preparation.

15. Biggins, J.B., Hager, M., and Thorson, J.S. (2006) "Self-Resistance Mechanisms in Antibiotic-Producing Bacteria." Chem. Biol. Submitted.

14. Biggins, J.B., Prudent, J.R., Marshall, D.J., and Thorson, J.S. (2006) "A continuous assay for DNA cleavage using 'molecular break light' probes." Methods Mol. Biol. 335:83-92. [Abstract]

13. Koh, J.T. and Biggins, J.B. (2005) “Ligand Receptor Engineering and Its Applications towards the Complementation of Genetic Diseases and Target Identification.” Curr. Top. Med. Chem. 5(4):413-420.

12. Biggins, J.B., Onueme, K.C., and Thorson, J.S. (2003) "Resistance to Enediyne Antitumor Antibiotics by CalC Self-Sacrifice." Science. 301(5639):1537-1541. [PDF] [suppl data] (Highlights in Chemical & Engineering News; Sept. 15, 2003, p.4 [link] and The Scientist; Sept 12, 3003 [link], and C&EN Best of 2003 [link].)

11. Yang, J.; Fu, X.; Jia, Q.; Shen, J.; Biggins, J. B.; Jiang, J.; Zhao, J.; Schmidt, J. J.; Wang, P. G.; Thorson, J. S. (2003) "Studies on the Substrate Specificity of E. coli Galactokinase." Org. Lett. 5(13):2223-2226. [PDF]

10. Albermann, C., Soriano, A., Jiang, J., Vollmer, H., Biggins, J.B., Barton, W.A., Lesniak, J., Nikolov, D.B., and Thorson, J.S. (2003) " Substrate Specificity of NovM: Implications for Novobiocin Biosynthesis and Glycorandomization." Org. Lett. 5(6):933-936. [PDF]

9. Losey, H., Jiang, J., Biggins, J.B., Oberthur, M., Ye, X-Y., Dong, S.D., Kahne, D., Thorson, J.S., and Walsh, C.T. (2002) "Incorporation of Glucose Analogs by Glycosyltransferases GtfE and GtfD from the Vancomycin Biosynthetic Pathway to Generate Variant Glycopeptides." Chem. Biol. 9:1305-1314. [PDF]

8. Barton, W.A., Biggins, J.B., Jiang, J., Thorson, J.S., and Nikolov, D.B. (2002) "Expanding Pyrimidine Diphosphosugar Libraries via Structure-Based Nucleotidyltransferase Engineering." Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA. (99)21:13397-13402. [PDF]

7. Barton, W.A., Lesniak, J., Biggins, J.B., Jeffrey, P.D., Jiang, J., Rajashankar, K.R., Thorson, J.S., and Nikolov, D.B. (2001) "Structure, Mechanism, and Engineering of a Nucleotidyltransferase as a First Step Toward Glycorandomization." Nat. Struct. Biol. 8(6):545-551. [PDF] (Highlights in Chemical & Engineering News; June 4, 2000, p. 11 [link]. & Dec. 10, 2000, p. 50 [link].

6. Jiang, J., Biggins, J.B., and Thorson, J.S. (2001) "Expanding the Pyrimidine Diphosphosugar Repertoire: The Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Amino- and Acetamidoglucopyranosyl Derivatives." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 40(8):1502-1505. [PDF]

5. Thorson, J.S., Hosted, T.J. Jr., Jiang, J., Biggins, J.B., Ahlert, J., and Ruppen, M. (2001) "Nature's Carbohydrate Chemists: The Enzymatic Glycosylation of Bioactive Bacterial Metabolites." Curr. Org. Chem. 5:139-167. [PDF]

4. Ciaccio, J.A., Bravo, R.P., Drahus, A.L., Biggins, J.B., Concepcion, R.A., and Cabera, D. (2001) "Diastereoselective Synthesis of (+/-)-1,2-Diphenyl-1,2-propanediol: A Discovery-Based Grignard Reaction Suitable for a Large Organic Lab Course." J. Chem. Ed. 78:531. [PDF]

3. Biggins, J.B., Prudent, J.R., Marshall, D.J., Ruppen, M., and Thorson, J.S. (2000) "A Continuous Assay for DNA Cleavage: The Application of 'Break Lights' to Enediynes, Iron-Dependent Agents, and Nucleases." Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA. 97(25):13537-13542. [PDF] (Highlight in Chemical & Engineering News; Dec. 11, 2000, pp. 51-52 [link].)

2. Jiang, J.*, Biggins, J.B.*, and Thorson, J.S. (2000) "A General Enzymatic Method for the Synthesis of Natural and 'Unnatural' UDP- and TDP-Nucleotide Sugars.? J. Am. Chem. Soc. 122(28):6803-6804. [PDF]

1. Zhao, Y, Biggins, J.B., and Thorson, J.S. (1998) "Acceptor Specificity of Salmonella GDP-Man: alpha-L-Rha1-->3-alpha-D-Gal-PP-Und-beta-1-->4-Mannosyltransferase: A Simplified Assay Based on Unnatural Acceptors." J. Am. Chem. Soc, 120(49):12986-12987. [PDF]


ABSTRACTS:

Biggins J. B., Onwueme K., and Thorson J.S. "Elucidation of the Mechanism of CalC Reveals a Self-Sacrificing Paradigm for Resistance to Enediyne Antitumor Antibiotics." Gordon Research Conference; Bioorganic Chemistry, June 15-20, 2003. Proctor Academy; Andover, NH

Biggins J. B., Onwueme K., Whitwam R.E., and Thorson J.S. "Characterization of the self-resistance mechanism toward the enediene antitumor molecule calicheamicin in Micromonospora" Seminar Abstract CARB #60. American Chemical Society, ACS National Meeting, August 26-30, 2000, Chigaco, IL

Biggins J.B., Bannerjee D., O'Connor O.A., Whitwam, R.E., Onwueme K., Ahlert J., Holman T.R., Ruppen M., Bertino J.R., and Thorson, J.S. "The Chemical Mechanism of the calC Gene Encoding Calicheamicin Self-resistance in Micromonospora." Seminar Abstract #4775. American Association of Cancer Research, AACR Annual Meeting, April 1-5, 2000, San Fransisco, CA.


RESEARCH SUPPORT

Postdoctoral Fellowship; Jan 2005 – Dec 2007
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
“A chemogenetic approach towards elucidating non-genomic nuclear hormone receptor signaling.”
Fellowship Award (DRG 1852-05); endowed by the Robert Black Charitable Foundation.
$134,000

Predoctoral Fellowship; Jan 2001 – Dec 2002
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation
“Mechanism of self-resistance in Micromonospora to the antitumor antibiotic calicheamicin.”
Advanced Predoctoral Training in Pharmacology and Toxicology
$25,000

Predoctoral Fellowship; May 2001
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Frank Lappin Horsfall, Jr. Fellowship
Awarded for publication of: Biggins et. al (2000) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA. 97(25):13537-13542.
$8,000


RELEVANT EXPERIENCE:
Cornell University
Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers; Ithaca, NY
-CIBT Summer Program in Molecular Biology. Mentor and lecture New York State tenured high school Biology teachers in the advancements in molecular biology in efforts to provide increased practical knowledge with which to innovate and instruct a high school biology/chemistry laboratory course.

Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences; New York, NY
-Cornell Science Challenge. Mentor elementary school students in developing, preparing, and carrying out a protocol for scientific exploration.


Mini-biography
As the youngest of three children, John grew up in Elmsford, a northern suburb of New York City. He graduated from Fordham University, Bronx, NY with a B.S. in Psychology (1993) and a B.S. in Chemistry (1994). He later returned to the Fordham Chemistry Dept. as an organic chemistry laboratory technician for two years before matriculating into the Pharmacology doctoral program at the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences (WGSMS) of Cornell University in New York City. Here he worked under the guidance of Prof. Jon Thorson in his Laboratory for Biosynthetic Chemistry at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, and later at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where microbial antibiotic biosynthesis and regulation are explored. In his thesis research, John has elucidated a 1,4-benzyl diradical quenching self-resistance mechanism within the calicheamicin enediyne antibiotic producing Micromonospora bacterium. He also helped to develop an efficient chemo-enzymatic synthesis of nucleotide sugars through the use of “Ep,” a bacterial sugar nucleotidyltransferase engineered to accept a broad scope of unnatural substrates in efforts to increase structural variability (i.e., “glycorandomization”) for the subsequent glycosylations of bioactive molecules.

During his thesis research, he has obtained the PhRMA Foundation fellowship, the Frank Lappin Horsfall Jr. fellowship, twice won the Vincent duVigneaud (Grand) Prize at the annual Vincent duVigneaud Memorial Symposium (a WGSMS academic competition), was awarded the Pfizer Prize at the 2003 Gordon Research Conference for Bioorganic Chemistry, and was awarded the 2004 WGSMS Rachele Prize for best research paper for the calicheamicin resistance project.

In late 2003, John joined Prof. John Koh as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Delaware, Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, where novel chemical methods are developed towards exploring cellular biology and compensate for the altered pathologies that exist in disease states. In 2005, he was awarded a Robert Black Fellowship Award from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation for the development of a chemogenetic method with which to deconvolute nuclear and non-nuclear hormone signaling patterns.

D.O.B. July 21, 1971. North Tarrytown (now Sleepy Hollow), New York
Status: Single; no children; one dog.
posted by John at 9:16 AM