Max Burroughs (Burroughs AM), Ph.D.
Protein and Genome Evolution Group
Computational Biology Branch
NCBI/NLM/NIH
Bethesda, MD 20894
USA
phone: (301)496-9313
fax: (301)480-4637
Research Interests
In a very general sense, I am interested in applying computational methods to biomolecular sequences to make novel biological inferences. Somewhat more specifically, I am interested in:
-
identifying and understanding large-scale evolutionary trends in genomes and proteins and how these affect diversification and adaptation
-
predicting novel biochemical activities, interactions, and functions of proteins through comparative sequence and genome analysis
-
understanding the processes behind cellular pathway evolution
Brief Bio
-
Currently a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. L. Aravind at the Computational Biology Branch in the National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
-
Graduated from Boston University with a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics in Dec 2007, doctoral research performed in my current lab.
-
Enrolled in the NIH Graduate Partnerships Program at the Boston University Bioinformatics Program in the Fall of 2003.
-
Received B. Sc. in Biochemistry from Brigham Young University-Hawaii Campus in June of 2003, with a minors in Mathematics and Chemistry.
-
As an undergraduate I worked in the lab of Dr. Darren Heaton, characterizing cytochrome oxidase assembly factors from Jan 2002 until June 2003.
-
In the summer of 2002 I did an internship in the lab of Dr. Graham N. George at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory working on EXAFS experiments and data analysis. Dr. George has since moved to the University of Saskatchewan.
Publications
Burroughs AM, Jaffee M, Iyer LM, L Aravind. Anatomy of the E2 ligase fold: implications for enzymology and evolution of ubiquitin/Ub-like protein conjugation. Journal of Structural Biology. Jan 1, 2008 (Epub).
Peisach E, Wang L, Burroughs AM, L Aravind, Dunaway-Mariano D, Allen KN. The X-ray crystallographic structure and activity analysis of a Pseudomonas-specific subfamily of the HAD enzyme superfamily evidences a novel biochemical function. Proteins. 2008 Jan 1;70(1):197-207.
Burroughs AM, Iyer LM, L Aravind. Comparative genomics and evolutionary trajectories of viral ATP DNA-packaging systems. Volff J-N (editor): Gene and Protein Evolution, Genome Dynamics series. Basel, Karger, 2007, vol. 3, pp 48-65.
Burroughs AM, Balaji S, Iyer LM, L Aravind. Small but versatile: the extraordinary functional and structural diversity of the ß-grasp fold. Biology Direct. 2007 Jul 2;2(1):18.
Burroughs AM, Balaji S, Iyer LM, L Aravind. A novel superfamily containing the ß-grasp fold involved in binding diverse soluble ligands. Biology Direct. 2007 Jan 24;2:4.
Burroughs AM, Allen KN, Dunaway-Mariano D, and L Aravind. Evolutionary genomics of the HAD superfamily: understanding the structural adaptations and catalytic diversity in a superfamily of phosphoesterases and allied enzymes. Journal of Molecular Biology. 2006 Sep 1;361(5):1003-34.
Burroughs AM*, Iyer LM*, L Aravind. The prokaryotic antecedents of the ubiquitin-signaling system and the early evolution of ubiquitin-like ß-grasp domains. Genome Biology. 2006 Jul 19;7(7):R60.
Iyer LM, Burroughs AM, L Aravind. The ASCH superfamily: novel domains with a fold related to the PUA domain and a potential role in RNA metabolism. Bioinformatics. 2006 Feb 1;22(3):257-63.
Burroughs AM. The Medical Examination in United States Immigration Applications: The Potential Use of Genetic Testing Leads to Heightened Privacy Concerns. Journal of Biolaw and Business. 2005;8(4):22-32
(* indicates co-first authorship)
Pubmed listing.
Supplementary material relating to publications from Aravind's group.
Other Links
Latest research highlights from the group.
Collaborators pages: