Research Stories

by Linley Erin Hall

James Cronican:
Translating ideas into scientific tools

James Cronican was surprised. The chemistry professor had invited any freshman interested in student research to stay after class. He was the only one who stayed.

The following semester, Cronican, now a senior biochemistry major, found himself in the laboratory of Wilson Francisco, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Cronican started working with another undergraduate to purify and characterize a protein.

"It was the first time I had taken a freshman. I usually wait until students have a couple of years of experience," says Francisco, who is also the undergraduate research adviser for the department of chemistry and biochemistry. "But allowing James to join my laboratory was one of the best decisions that I have made."

James Cronican

Cronican spent the next year and a half using different methods to determine the structure and function of a small metal binding protein. He found that the protein was quite novel, as it was able to bind up to six copper atoms.

Enzymes are proteins that make biochemical reactions go faster This protein was not an enzyme, as the researchers had hoped. However, it has provided important information about how microorganisms deal with high concentrations of toxic metals. Cronican and Francisco have submitted a paper about the protein to the journal Biochemistry.

"You move from the nice, neat stories you find in textbooks to find out that there's a lot of uncertainty in what researchers do," Cronican says. "A lot of things in science don't work out the first time. You have to trust in yourself and that your ideas will work."

Since Francisco's lab focuses on enzymes, Cronican has also worked on a project investigating a possible enzyme from the bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum.

In this work, Cronican became familiar with purifying plasmid DNA from bacterial cells. Plasmids are circular pieces of DNA. A common technique is to insert the gene for a protein of interest into a plasmid, then put the plasmid in bacterial cells. Bacteria then make large amounts of the protein. Recovering the plasmids, however, can be a tedious task. Machines that automate the plasmid preparation process are available, but they cost upwards of $50,000 and complete the job no faster than by hand.

Cronican attended a lecture given by Frederic Zenhausern, director of the Center for Applied Nanobiosciences at the Biodesign Institute. He learned about the newest advances in microfluidic technology during that talk. An idea began to form.

Cronican thought about building a machine that would automate plasmid preparation while also making the process faster and cheaper. He formed a team, recruited Zenhausern as an advisor, and applied to the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative.

This ASU program provides funding, office space, and training for teams of students with innovative business ideas. Cronican's team is called Nucleic Solutions. They received $17,000 to develop their product, the highest award made in 2006.

"I've gone from reading textbooks and seeing what everyone else has done to putting this education together and pursuing my ideas," Cronican says. After graduation he plans to complete a doctorate in biochemistry and then begin a career developing enzymes for medicinal and industrial uses.

For more information about research on metalloenzymes, contact Wilson Francisco, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 480.965.7480. Send e-mail to Wilson.Francisco@asu.edu

Read "Scientists Next: Part 1"