Laura L. Kiessling

Laura L. Kiessling is an American chemist, Steenbock Professor of Chemistry and Laurens Anderson Professor of Biochemistry, at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Her interdisciplinary research interests focus on elucidating and exploiting the mechanisms of cell surface recognition processes, especially those involving protein-glycan interactions. Another major interest of her group is multivalency and its role in recognition and signal transduction. Her research combines tools from organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, structural biology, and molecular and cell biology.^[1][2]

Education

After earning a B.S. in chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1983) and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Yale University (1989), Kiessling spent two years at the California Institute of Technology as an American Cancer Society postdoctoral Fellow before joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1991.

Career

In addition to her current positions in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UW-Madison, she is the director of both the Keck Center for Chemical Genomics and the NIH Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program as well as the Editor-in-Chief of ACS Chemical Biology.^[3][4][5]

In the first ten years of her career, Kiessling garnered a NSF National Young Investigator Award, Zeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award, a Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, American Chemical Society (ACS) Arthur C. Cope Award, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and was selected as one of the fifty top research and development “stars to watch” by Industry Week.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]} Kiessling is also the cofounder of Quintessence Biosciences, a company that is working to translate her technological advances into cures for various diseases.^[13]

Laura Kiessling is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Member of the American Academy of Microbiology, National Academy of Sciences, and Wisconsin Academy of the Arts and Sciences. In addition since 2005 she has served as editor–in-chief of ACS Chemical Biology.^{[14][15][16][17]} She is also a member of the Board of Scientific Governors of The Scripps Research Institute.^[18] During her Guggenheim Fellowship term, Kiessling worked at Caltech, in the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Laboratories of Chemical Synthesis, studying chemoselective reactions for biology.^[19]

Selected honors and awards

• 2011 WARF H. Emil Fischer Professorship ^[20]
• 2010 Fellow of the American Chemical Society ^[21]
• 2008 Vilas Associate Award, University of Wisconsin ^[22]
• 2008 Wilbur Cross Medal, Yale University^[23]
• 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship ^[24]
• 2008 Member, Wisconsin Academy of the Arts and Sciences
• 2007 Member, National Academy of Sciences ^[25]
• 2007 Member, American Academy of Microbiology ^[26]
• 2007 Garvan–Olin Medal, American Chemical Society (Garvan-Olin Medal)^[27]
• 2005 Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award ^[28]
• 2005 Harrison-Howe Award, Rochester ACS ^[29]
• 2003 American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Member ^[30]
• 2003 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science ^[31]
• 2001 Carbohydrate Research Award ^[32]
• 2001 Romnes Faculty Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison ^[33]
• 2000 Horace Isbell Award, Carbohydrate Division of the American Chemical Society ^[34]
• 1999-2004 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship ^[35]
• 1999 Selected as one of the 50 top R & D stars to watch by Industry Week ^[36]
• 1999 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award ^[37]
• 1993-98 National Science Foundation, National Young Investigator Award (NYI) ^[38]
• 1997 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship (Sloan Fellowship) ^[39]
• 1992-97 Shaw Scientist Award ^[40]
• 1996 Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation)^[41]
• 1995-97 Zeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award
• 1995-97 American Cancer Society Junior Faculty Award
• 1992-95 Procter and Gamble University Exploratory Research Award
• 1994-96 Beckman Young Investigators Award ^[42]
• 1989-91 American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 1983 Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society
• 1981 Phi Lambda Upsilon Honorary Chemical Society

Selected works

• Gestwicki, J. E.; Cairo, C. W.; Strong, L. E.; Oetjen, K. A.; Kiessling, L. L. (2002). "Influencing Receptor – Ligand Binding Mechanisms with Multivalent Ligand Architecture". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 124: 14922–14933. doi:10.1021/ja027184x. 

Showed that the multivalent ligands (compounds that possess multiple binding groups) can act by different mechanisms to create different types of macromolecular assemblies.

• Gestwicki, J. E.; Kiessling, L. L. (2002). "Inter-Receptor Communication through Arrays of Bacterial Chemoreceptors". Nature 415: 81–84. Bibcode:2002Natur.415...81G. doi:10.1038/415081a. 

Demonstration that multivalent ligands can be used to cluster proteins and activate signaling. Found that the bacterial chemoreceptors work together like a nose to sense and respond to compounds in their environment.

• Courtney, H.; Puffer, E. B.; Pontrello, J. K.; Wang, Z.-Q.; Kiessling, L. L. (2009). "Sialylated Multivalent Antigens Engage CD22 in Trans and Inhibit B Cell Activation". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 106: 2500–2505. doi:10.1073/pnas.0807207106. 

Found that multifunctional multivalent ligands can be used to elicit a specific cell response. Polymers that co-cluster a receptor on B cells (the B cell receptor) with a carbohydrate-binding protein (CD22) dampen immune responses.

• May, J. F.; Splain, R. A.; Brotschi, C.; Kiessling, L. L. (2009). "A Tethering Mechanism for Length Control in a Processive Carbohydrate Polymerization". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 106 (29): 11851–11856. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10611851M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0901407106. PMC 2715488. PMID 19571009. 

Polysaccharides are the most abundant organic molecules on Earth but how their length is controlled is not known. This publication puts forth a general mechanism for controlling the length of a polysaccharide.

• Brown, C. D.; Rusek, M. S.; Kiessling, L. L. (2012). "Fluorosugar Chain Termination Agents as Probes of the Sequence Specificity of a Carbohydrate Polymerase". J. Am. Chem. Soc. doi:10.1021/ja301723p. 

Carbohydrate polymerases mediate the assembly of polysaccharides composed of different sequences and structures. Are the polymerases highly selective for generating specific sequences? This publication examines carbohydrate polymerase fidelity and shows that these enzymes can be faithful not promiscuous.

• Borrok, M. J.; Kiessling, L. L. (2007). "Non-Carbohydrate Inhibitors of the Lectin DC-SIGN". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129: 12780–12785. doi:10.1021/ja072944v. 

A rare example of a small molecule that is a potent monovalent blocker of a lectin (IC50 value ~ 1 μM).

• Klim, J. R.; Li, L.; Kiessling, L. L. (2010). "A Defined Glycosaminoglycan-Binding Substratum for Human Pluripotent Stem Cells". Nat Methods 7 (12): 989–994. doi:10.1038/nmeth.1532. PMC 2994976. PMID 21076418. 

A new and unexpected role for glycosaminoglycans interactions in maintaining the pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells. Draws on insights learned from investigating multivalent protein–carbohydrate interactions.

• Dykhuizen, E. C.; May, J. F.; Tongpenyai, A.; Kiessling, L. L. "Inhibitors of UDP-Galactopyranose Mutase Thwart Mycobacterial Growth". 2008". J. Am. Chem. Soc 130: 6706–6707. doi:10.1021/ja8018687. 
• Kolonko, E. M.; Kiessling, L. L. "A polymeric domain that promotes cellular internalization". 2008". J. Am. Chem. Soc 130: 5626–5627. doi:10.1021/ja8001716. 
• Underbakke, E. S.; Zhu, Y.; Kiessling, L. L. "Isotope-Coded Affinity Tags with Tunable Reactivites for Protein Footprinting". 2008". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed 47: 9677–9680. doi:10.1002/anie.200803378. 
• Carlson, C. B.; Mowery, P.; Owen, R. M.; Dykhuizen, E. C.; Kiessling, L. L. "Selective Tumor Cell Targeting Using Low Affinity Multivalent Interactions". 2007". ACS Chem. Biol 2: 119–127. doi:10.1021/cb6003788. 
• Puffer, E. B.; Pontrello, J. K.; Hollenbeck, J. J.; Kink, J. A.; Kiessling, L. L. "Activating B Cell Signaling with Defined Multivalent Ligands". 2007". ACS Chem. Biol 2: 252–262. doi:10.1021/cb600489g. 
• Kiessling, L. L.; Gestwicki, J. E.; Strong, L. E. (2006). "Synthetic Ligands as Probes of Signal Transduction." 2006". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 45: 2348–2368. doi:10.1002/anie.200502794. 
• Pontrello, J. K.; Allen, M. J.; Underbakke, E. S.; Kiessling, L. L. "Solid-Phase Synthesis of Polymers Using the Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization". 2005". J. Am. Chem. Soc 127: 14536–14537. doi:10.1021/ja053931p. 
• He, Y.; Hinklin, R. J.; Chang, J.; Kiessling, L. L. "Stereoselective N-Glycosylation by Staudinger Ligation." 2004". Org. Lett 6: 4479–4482. doi:10.1021/ol048271s. 
• Soltero-Higgin, M. L.; Carlson, E. E.; Gruber, T. D.; Kiessling, L. L. "A Unique Catalytic Mechanism for UDP-Galactopyranose Mutase" 2004". Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 11: 539–543. doi:10.1038/nsmb772. 
• Young, T.; Kiessling, L. L. "A Strategy for the Synthesis of Sulfated Peptides". 2002". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Eng 41: 3449–3451. doi:10.1002/1521-3773(20020916)41:18<3449::aid-anie3449>3.0.co;2-u. 
• Gestwicki, J. E.; Cairo, C. W.; Strong, L. E.; Oetjen, K. A.; Kiessling, L. L. "Influencing Receptor - Ligand Binding Mechanisms with Multivalent Ligand Architecture". 2002". J. Am. Chem. Soc 124: 14922–14933. doi:10.1021/ja027184x. 
• Bertozzi, C. R.; Kiessling, L. L. (March 2001). "Chemical Glycobiology". , 2001 Science 291 (2357-64): 299. doi:10.1126/science.1059820. PMID 11269316. 
• Hinklin, R. J.; Kiessling, L. L. "Glycosyl Sulfonylcarbamates: New Glycosyl Donors with Tunable Reactivity". 2001". J. Am. Chem. Soc 123: 3379–3380. doi:10.1021/ja005735i. 
• Nilsson, B. L.; Kiessling, L. L.; Raines, R. T. (2000). "Staudinger Ligation: A Peptide from a Thioester and Azide". Org. Lett 2 (13): 1939–1941. doi:10.1021/ol0060174. PMID 10891196. 
• Maki, N.; Gestwicki, J. E.; Kiessling, L. L.; Adler, J. (2000). "Motility and Chemotaxis of Filamentous Cells of Escherichia coli". J. Bacteriol 182: 4337–4342. doi:10.1128/jb.182.15.4337-4342.2000. 

^[43]

References

External links

• "Laura L. Kiessling", Scientific Commons
• , Quintessence Biosciences, Inc.
• , The Kiessling Lab website
• , Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program