Kara L. Bren


Department of Chemistry                                                                                       Office:        (585) 275-4335
University of Rochester                                                                                          Fax:           (585) 276-0205
Rochester, NY 14627-0216                                                                                  bren@chem.rochester.edu



EDUCATION:

Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota (1987 – 1991) B.A., Chemistry (1991)

         Research:  1H NMR investigation of dynamics of carbohydrates

         Research Advisor:  Prof. Lynn Buffington

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California (1991 – 1995) Ph.D., Chemistry (1996)

         Thesis:  Structurally Engineered Cytochromes c with Novel Ligand-Binding Properties

         Research Advisor:  Harry B. Gray

University of Florence, Florence, Italy (4/94 – 8/94; 4/95 – 5/95), visiting student

         Research:  NMR solution structures of paramagnetic heme proteins

         Research Advisor:  Ivano Bertini

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Professor of Chemistry, University of Rochester

 2008 - present

Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Rochester

 2003 - 2008

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Rochester

 1997 - 2003

Member of Biophysics and Structural Biology Cluster, University of Rochester

 1998 - present
  Research:  Spectroscopic investigation of folding and dynamics of heme proteins.
  Analysis of electronic structure and electron transfer activity of heme proteins

NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California at Davis

 1996 - 1997
  Research:  1H NMR studies of electronic and molecular structure of P. furiosus ferredoxin
  Research Advisor:  Gerd N. La Mar

LEADERSHIP IN SCIENTIFIC FIELD

Editorial Board Member, Inorganic Chemistry 2009 - 2012
Chair-Elect, ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry, Bioinorganic Subdivision 2009
Co-organizer, Tenth Annual Upstate NY NMR Symposium, Rochester, NY 2008
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry  2007 - 2010
Member, NIH Macromolecular Structure and Function A Study Section (MSFA)  2005 - 2008

Session Moderator, Protein Structure and Folding, Graduate Research Seminar on

Bioinorganic Chemistry 2006
Member, DOE Review Panel on Basic Research for Hydrogen Fuel Initiative 2005
Moderator, Bioinorganic Oral Session, National Meeting of the ACS, Anaheim, CA 2004
Session Organizer and Moderator, Bioinorganic Chemistry Oral Session,
Northeast Regional Meeting of the ACS, Rochester, NY       2004
Ad hoc Member, NIH Physical Biochemistry Special Emphasis Panel    2004
Guest Editor, Inorganic Chemistry Forum on Metalloprotein Folding  2004
Ad hoc Member, NIH Metallobiochemistry Study Section (twice)    2003
Ad hoc Member, NIH Biochemistry Study Section  2003
Ad hoc Member, NIH Biochemistry Special Emphasis Panel  2003
Moderator, Residual Structures in Unfolded Proteins Session, Gordon Research
Conference on Protein Folding Dynamics, Ventura, CA      2002
Organizer, Third Annual Upstate New York NMR Symposium, Rochester, NY   2001
Invited Expert Analyst, ChemTracts Inorganic Chemistry   2000 - present

AWARDS AND HONORS:

American Chemical Society PROGRESS/Dreyfus Lectureship Award 

 2006

Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow 

 2003 - 2005

Paul Saltman Memorial Lecturer    

 2004
National Research Service Award (NIH Post-doctoral Fellow) 1996 - 1997
Eastman/Kodak Graduate Fellow 1992 - 1995
Special Institute Fellow, Caltech   1991 - 1992
Nominated to Phi Beta Kappa   1991
Nominated to Sigma Xi 1991
Exner Award (Carleton College) 1991
Technology Policy Studies Fellow (Carleton College; sponsored by Sloan Foundation) 1990

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Chemical Society (Inorganic, Biological, and Physical subdivisions)

Phi Beta Kappa
Sigma Xi
Society for Biological Inorganic Chemistry