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COSAM's Ellis Recipient of NSF Award
According to the NSF website, the CAREER program is a foundation-wide activity which offers awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. “We are interested in understanding how enzymes function,” Ellis said. “Their primary role is to maintain metabolic processes in the cell. Our projects focus on sulfur metabolism in the cell.” “For this proposal, we are focused on a two-enzyme system found in bacteria. Basically, we are studying the mechanism of sulfur acquisition by these two enzymes. It is interesting because the two act together to carry out a single reaction; when normally, only one enzyme is required to catalyze a single reaction. Our goal is to understand the mechanism of this system in order to apply it to other two-enzyme systems. Relating the results obtained from these studies will enhance our knowledge of a family of enzymes with highly diverse functions. We hope to eventually develop this system to use for biodegradation,” Ellis said. The project also has an educational component. The objective is to enhance COSAM’s outreach program, Science in Motion, by introducing biochemical experiments to the existing curriculum. The Auburn Science in Motion program was established by the Alabama State Legislature to bring technologically advanced laboratory experiments to local high school classrooms to increase student interest in science through experimental development, graduate student outreach and direct training to high school educators. "An NSF CAREER Award is one of the most prestigious recognitions an investigator can receive,” COSAM Dean Stewart Schneller said. “Dr. Ellis' investigations are clearly seen by the scholarly community as contemporary, imaginative, exemplary and sound. We are proud of her and look forward to following her successes."
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Holly R. Ellis, an assistant professor in of the College of Sciences and Mathematics Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, was recently given an award through the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program of the National Science Foundation. The award is in the amount of $844,784 for five years.