Wilfred A. van der Donk

Leader in antibiotic research and expert in the use of genome mining strategies to discover new natural products. Exploits microbiology and genomic tools to determine their mode of action, chemical biology techniques to study their biosynthesis, and synthetic chemistry to improve their activities, therapeutic properties, and potential for development as pharmaceuticals. Elucidated biosynthesis and mechanism of action of complex lantibiotic antimicrobials. Replicated biosynthesis of these multicyclic, stereochemically complex, and highly modified peptides in vitro, enabling redesign and reengineering of their structure to improve stability, activity and specificity, and opening a path to new agents to combat the worldwide scourge of antibiotic resistance. Elucidated the diverse modes of lantibiotic antimicrobial activity. Cloned genes involved in production of the novel phosphonate and phosphinate antibiotics, unraveled their structures, and elucidated the unprecedented biochemical processes involved in their biosynthesis.