Lauren E. Buchanan

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Overview:

Research in the Buchanan group is highly interdisciplinary, focusing on using state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques to study systems at the interface of biology and nanotechnology. One research direction focuses on understanding the complex array of forces that drive protein folding and aggregation in order to guide the rational design of peptide materials. Additionally, we plan to study the structure and bioactivity of nanoparticle-bound proteins. Ultimately, these studies will augment our knowledge of how to design novel materials and predict potential adverse responses for materials used in biomedical applications such as drug delivery, imaging, and sensing.

Awards:

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, 2009-2012
• Outstanding Chemistry Teaching Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2009
• Pei Wang Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008
• John C. Sowden Award as Outstanding Senior in Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, 2008
• Israelow Research Fellowship, Washington University in St. Louis, 2007
• William Greenleaf Eliot Scholar, Washington University in St. Louis, 2004-2008

Selected Publications:

Surface-Enhanced Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy at 1 MHz Repetition Rates. Buchanan, LE; Gruenke, NL; McAnally, MO; Negru, B; Mayhew, HE; Apkarian, VA; Schatz, GC; Van Duyne, RP, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS, 7, 4629-4634 , (2016) View Abstract

Structural motif of polyglutamine amyloid fibrils discerned with mixed-isotope infrared spectroscopy. Buchanan, LE; Carr, JK; Fluitt, AM; Hoganson, AJ; Moran, SD; de Pablo, JJ; Skinner, JL; Zanni, MT, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 111, 5796-5801 , (2014) View Abstract

Mechanism of IAPP amyloid fibril formation involves an intermediate with a transient beta-sheet. Buchanan, LE; Dunkelberger, EB; Tran, HQ; Cheng, PN; Chiu, CC; Cao, P; Raleigh, DP; de Pablo, JJ; Nowick, JS; Zanni, MT, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 110, 19285-19290 , (2013) View Abstract

Deamidation Accelerates Amyloid Formation and Alters Amylin Fiber Structure. Dunkelberger, EB; Buchanan, LE; Marek, P; Cao, P; Raleigh, DP; Zanni, MT, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 134, 12658-12667 , (2012) View Abstract

Two-dimensional IR spectroscopy and segmental C-13 labeling reveals the domain structure of human gamma D-crystallin amyloid fibrils. Moran, SD; Woys, AM; Buchanan, LE; Bixby, E; Decatur, SM; Zanni, MT, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 109, 3329-3334 , (2012) View Abstract