{"590042":{"#nid":"590042","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Raquel L. Lieberman: Sigma Xi Faculty Best Paper Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/lieberman\/\u0022\u003ERaquel L. Lieberman\u003C\/a\u003E is the recipient of the 2017 Georgia Tech Sigma Xi Best Faculty Paper Award. Lieberman is an associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The paper recognized by this award is \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nchembio\/journal\/v12\/n12\/pdf\/nchembio.2191.pdf\u0022\u003E\u0026ldquo;Enzymatic hydrolysis by transition-metal-dependent nucleophilic aromatic substitution,\u0026rdquo; published in Nature Chemical Biology\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe work involves protein crystallography, enzymology, and organic chemistry to address a question related to chemical ecology. This diversity of fields exemplifies the highly interdisciplinary questions Georgia Tech researchers are aiming to answer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlso notable is the diversity of Lieberman\u0026rsquo;s research team. It involved high school, undergraduate, and graduate students; a technician; and a postdoctoral fellow. Also with the team was a remarkable high school teacher whose teaching has been transformed by doing research in the Lieberman lab. The paper uniquely embodies Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s motto: Progress and Service.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2016\/10\/03\/unique-bacterial-chemist-war-potatoes\u0022\u003EThe paper describes a precedent-setting metalloenzyme discovered in the context of the complex biochemical warfare waged in farm soils where potato is grown\u003C\/a\u003E. In such soils, the bacterium \u003Cem\u003EStreptomyces scabies\u003C\/em\u003E infects potato tubers and secretes compounds that induce the formation of scabs; among them is 5-nitroanthranilic acid (5NAA).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlso in the same soils is another bacterium, \u003Cem\u003EBradhyrhizobium sp.\u003C\/em\u003E This nonpathogenic microbe seems to defend itself and the potato plant from\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ES. scabies\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Eby detoxifying 5NAA\u003Cem\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003ELieberman\u0026rsquo;s collaborator of more than five years, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/people\/Faculty\/671\/overview\u0022\u003EJim C. Spain, in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, discovered the unusual metalloenzyme in this bacterium.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe enzyme \u0026ndash; 5-nitroanthranilic\u0026nbsp;acid aminohydrolase (5NAA-A) \u0026ndash; performs unusual chemistry: hydrolysis of a nitroaromatic compound. Nitroaromatic compounds are notoriously toxic, challenging to synthesize, and difficult to degrade, but are found widely in synthetic dyes, explosives, and pesticides.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Lieberman team solved the structure of 5NAA-A and investigated its enzyme mechanism, substrate specificity, metal-binding properties, and phylogeny. They found that the chemistry it mediates, and the mechanism it uses, is rare among known enzymes.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA major force in the work was \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/539531\u0022\u003ECasey Bethel, who is Georgia\u0026rsquo;s 2017 Teacher of the Year\u003C\/a\u003E (TOTY). \u0026nbsp;Bethel helped pave the way to solving the crystal structures of 5-NAA-A and mentored students who helped confirm its unique chemical properties.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA highly charismatic high school teacher, Bethel has spent the past six summers working in the Lieberman lab. His participation was made possible by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ceismc.gatech.edu\/gift\u0022\u003EGeorgia Intern Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT)\u003C\/a\u003E, a program administered by the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/features\/next-generation-genius-0\u0022\u003ECenter for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and\u0026nbsp; Computing\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;Funds from Lieberman\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/funding\/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214\u0022\u003ENSF CAREER award\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;sponsored Bethel for four of the six years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s rare \u0026ndash; we believe unprecedented! \u0026ndash; in Georgia for the TOTY award to go to a STEM teacher at the high school level,\u0026rdquo; Lieberman says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;On behalf of my co-authors, I thank Sigma Xi and Georgia Tech for this honor,\u0026rdquo; Lieberman says. \u0026ldquo;Not only does our discovery have impact from a number of scientific angles; our study also truly epitomizes the interdisciplinary and collaborative culture at Georgia Tech.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Leading a diverse team to answer interdisciplinary questions"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/lieberman\/\u0022\u003ERaquel L. Lieberman\u003C\/a\u003E is the recipient of the 2017 Sigma Xi Best Faculty Paper Award. Lieberman is an associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The paper recognized by this award is \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nchembio\/journal\/v12\/n12\/pdf\/nchembio.2191.pdf\u0022\u003E\u0026ldquo;Enzymatic hydrolysis by transition-metal-dependent nucleophilic aromatic substitution,\u0026rdquo; published in Nature Chemical Biology\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Raquel L. Lieberman is the recipient of the 2017 Georgia Tech Sigma Xi Best Faculty Paper Award."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2017-04-07 18:33:33","changed_gmt":"2017-04-07 18:33:33","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-04-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-04-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"587661":{"id":"587661","type":"image","title":"Raquel Lieberman","body":null,"created":"1487627888","gmt_created":"2017-02-20 21:58:08","changed":"1487627888","gmt_changed":"2017-02-20 21:58:08","alt":"","file":{"fid":"223963","name":"Asso. Professor Raquel Lieberman.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Asso.%20Professor%20Raquel%20Lieberman_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Asso.%20Professor%20Raquel%20Lieberman_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":76097,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Asso.%20Professor%20Raquel%20Lieberman_0.jpg?itok=MLYAWzmF"}},"582034":{"id":"582034","type":"image","title":"High school \u0027Superteacher\u0027 Casey Bethel researches in Raquel Lieberman\u0027s lab","body":null,"created":"1475516634","gmt_created":"2016-10-03 17:43:54","changed":"1475516634","gmt_changed":"2016-10-03 17:43:54","alt":"","file":{"fid":"221861","name":"Bethel.lab_.sized_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Bethel.lab_.sized_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Bethel.lab_.sized_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3406625,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Bethel.lab_.sized_.jpg?itok=QYkYzQ2d"}}},"media_ids":["587661","582034"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.ceismc.gatech.edu\/news\/meet-casey-bethel-georgias-2017-teacher-year","title":"Meet Casey Bethel: Georgia\u0027s 2017 Teacher of the Year"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"174014","name":"2017 Sigma Xi Faculty Best Paper Award"},{"id":"10858","name":"Raquel Lieberman"},{"id":"166948","name":"Casey Bethel"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}