Current genome-mining approaches for the discovery of bioactive peptides are largely biased toward structural novelty rather than biological function. We aim to establish a new paradigm that prioritizes bioactivity, enabling the targeted discovery of peptides with desired biological activities.

(Bio)synthesis

We leverage synthetic biology and organic synthesis to access complex peptide scaffolds containing non-canonical structural features. Our goal is to develop simple, robust chemical and enzymatic tools for the site-selective modification of ribosomally synthesized peptides

Mechanism of action

We are interested in understanding how the structures of peptides give rise to their biological functions. To address this question, we combine classical biochemical approaches with structural biology techniques, including cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), to elucidate peptide structure–function relationships at atomic resolution.

Structure–Activity-Guided Genome Mining

We aim to transform peptide natural product discovery by integrating structural prediction into genome-mining workflows, enabling the rapid identification of bioactive molecules.