Paul Loach

Research Summary:

Our research is focused on understanding how photosynthetic organisms capture light energy and on using that knowledge to construct biohybrid light-harvesting systems that deliver the energy to a designed reaction center.  We take advantage of the unique interaction between small α and β polypeptides of core light-harvesting complexes of photosynthetic bacteria that enables them to be reconstituted with bacteriochlorophyll in vitro to form well-defined oligomeric structures.  By covalently attaching selected chromophores and cofactors to these chemically-synthesized polypeptides, complexes are formed mimicking in vivo systems but with enhanced and selective properties.

Selected Publications:

Palette of lipophilic bioconjugatable bacteriochlorins for construction of biohybrid light-harvesting Architectures.  Reddy KR, Jiang J, Krayer M, Harris MA, Springer JW, Yang E, Jiao J, Niedzwiedzki DM, Pandithavidana D, Parkes-Loach PS, Kirmaier, C, Loach PA, Bocian DF, Holten D and Lindsey JS. Chem. Sci. 2013 4; 2036-2053.

Integration of multiple chromophores with native photosynthetic antennas to enhance solar energy capture and delivery.  Harris MA, Parkes-Loach PS, Springer JW, Jiang J, Martin EC, Qian P, Jiao J, Niedzwiedzki DM, Kirmaier C, Olsen JD, Bocian DF, Holten D, Hunter CN, Lindsey JS, and Loach PA.  Chem. Sci. 2013 4; 3924-3933.

Biohybrid Photosynthetic Antenna Complexes for Enhanced Light-Harvesting.  Springer JW, Parkes-Loach PS, Reddy KR, Krayer M, Jiao J, Lee GM, Niedzwiedzki DM, Harris MA, Kirmaier C, Bocian DF, Lindsey JS, Holten D and Loach PA. 2012 J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134; 4589-4599.

Structure-Function Relationships in Bacterial Light-Harvesting Complexes Investigated by Reconstitution Techniques.  Loach PA and Parkes-Loach PS. In The Purple Phototrophic Bacteria,  Eds Hunter N, Daldal F, Thurnauer MC and Beatty JT, Springer Science, 2009 Ch 10, pp 181-198.

Interactions stabilizing the structure of the core light-harvesting complex (LH1) of photosynthetic bacteria and its subunit (B820).  Parkes-Loach PS, Majeed AP, Law CJ and Loach PA.  2004 Biochemistry 43; 7003-7016.

Selected Honors:

Yale University, NIH Predoctoral Fellowship

University of California, N.A.S. - NRC Postdoctoral Fellowship

NIH Research Career Development Award  

President, American Society for Photobiology  

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science