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- Detailed Information
Brian R. Gibney
Associate Professor
Chemistry
Location: 540 Ingersoll Hall Extension
Phone: 718.951.5000 x6636
Fax: 718.951.4607
Email:
Brian Gibney joined the Department of Chemistry at Brooklyn College in 2008 and is currently the Jacques Edward Levy Professor of Analytical Chemistry. Prior to Brooklyn College, Gibney was on the faculty at the Columbia University Department of Chemistry. He was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in the University of Pennsylvania Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. His research lies at the interface of inorganic and biological chemistry (i.e., bioinorganic chemistry) and focuses on how nature uses protein ligands to modulate the chemical properties of metals. His research tests biochemical hypotheses about metalloprotein structure/function relationships by designing proteins from first principles - de novo metalloprotein design. He has authored more than 70 papers, was named a Camille Dreyus Teacher-Scholar in 2005, and presented the Paul Saltman Memoral Lecture in 2007.
Education:
Ph.D., University of Michigan - Ann Arbor - 1994 (Chemistry, General)
B.S., Florida State University - 1990 (Chemistry)
Areas of Expertise:
While DNA is the blueprint for the cell, it is the proteins that do the bulk of the work. About 30% of proteins require metal ions for proper function and their dysfunction leads to human disease. The Gibney Lab takes a constructive approach toward understanding metalloprotein structure-function relationships. Using inorganic chemistry and protein biophysics, his lab designs and synthesizes simplified metalloproteins (maquettes) to test the fundamental tenets of metalloprotein engineering.
Doctoral Rotation Projects:
The Gibney Lab is investigating the role of the thioether linkages between the protein and the heme in natural cytochromes c. A rotation student working on this project will clone, over-express and purify a cytochrome c-to-b conversion protein before measuring its affinity for ferric and ferrous heme and its reduction potential. These thermodynamic data will be used to differentiate between the various roles proposed for the thioether linkages. The Gibney Lab is also investigating zinc finger transcription factors, the largest single class of metalloproteins in the human genome. Binding of Zn(II) results in a protein folding event required for proper biological function. A student working on this project will synthesize and purify zinc finger proteins, evaluate their Zn(II) affinity and attempt to fold them without Zn(II). Funding by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health is gratefully acknowledged.
Books and Publications
"Heme." Encyclopedia of Biophysics. Ed. Gordon Roberts. Springer. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2013
"Metallopeptides as Tools to Understand Metalloprotein Folding and Stability." Protein Folding and Metal Ions -- Mechanisms, Biology and Disease. Eds. C.M. Gomes and P. Wittung-Stafshede. New York: CRC Press. 227-45. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2011
Deng, B., S. Parthasarathy, W. Wang, B.R. Gibney, K.P. Battaile, S. Lovell, D.R. Benson and H. Zhu. "Unique Heme Pocket in Human Ncb5or and Structural Basis for Intra-Domain Electron Transfer., Journal of Biological Chemistry 285: 30181-91. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2010
Reedy, C.J., M.M. Elvekrog and B.R. Gibney. "Development and Analysis of a Heme Protein Structure-Electrochemical Function Database." Nucleic Acids Research 36: D307-13. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008
Westerlund, K., S.D. Moran, H.K. Privett, S. Hay, J. Jarvet, B.R. Gibney and C.T. Tommos. "Making a Single-Chain Four-Helix Bundle for Redox Chemistry Studies." Proteins: Engineering, Design and Selection 21: 645-52. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008
Reddi, A.R. and B.R. Gibney. "The Role of Protons in the Thermodynamic Contribution of a Zn(II)-Cys4 Site Toward Protein Stability." Biochemistry 46: 3745-58. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007
Reddi, A.R., C.J. Reedy, S. Mui and B.R. Gibney. "Thermodynamic Investigation into the Mechanisms of Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Heme Protein Maquettes." Biochemistry 46: 291-305. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007
Reddi, A.R., T. Guzman, R.M. Breece, D.L. Tierney and B.R. Gibney. "Deducing the Energetic Cost of Protein Folding in Zinc Finger Proteins Using Designed Metallopeptides." Journal of the American Chemical Society 129: 12815-27. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007
Thompson, A. M., A.R. Reddi, X. Shi, R.A. Goldbeck, P. Moenne-Loccoz, B.R. Gibney and T.R. Holman. "Characterization of the Role of Heme-Binding in the Yeast Protein Dap1p." Biochemistry 46: 12629-37. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007
Hong, J., O.A. Kharenko, A.K. Petros, B.R. Gibney and M.Y. Ogawa. "A Miniature Cu(I) Metalloprotein Displays Unusual Electron-transfer Reactivity: Collisional Electron-transfer in the Inverted Marcus Region." Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2006 45: 6137-40. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2006
Petros, A.K., A.R. Reddi, M.L. Kennedy, A.G. Hyslop and B.R. Gibney. "Femtomolar Zn(II) Affinity in a Peptide Ligand Designed to Model Thiolate-Rich Metalloprotein Active Sites." Inorganic Chemistry 45: 9941-58. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2006
Riley, E.A., A.K. Petros, K.A. Smith, B.R. Gibney and D.L. Tierney. "Frequency-Switching Inversion-Recovery: Application to Severely Hyperfine Shifted NMR in Aqueous Solution." Inorganic Chemistry 45: 10016-18. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2006
Zhuang, J., A.R. Reddi, Z. Wang, B. Khodaverdian, E.L. Hegg and B.R. Gibney. "Evaluating the Roles of the Heme a Sidechains in Cytochrome c Oxidase Using Designed Heme Proteins." Biochemistry 45: 12530-38. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2006
Zhuang, J., J.H. Amoroso, R. Kinloch, J.H. Dawson, M.J. Baldwin and B.R. Gibney. "Evaluation of Electron-Withdrawing Group Effects on Heme Binding in Designed Proteins: Implications for heme a in cytochrome c oxidase." Inoragnic Chemistry 45: 4685-94. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2006
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
European Commission Grant, for "Peptide-based Diodes for Solar Cells." (Grants and Fellowships) 2011
Jacques Edward Levy Professor of Analytical Chemistry. (Awards and Honors) 2010
National Institutes of Health Grant. (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
PSC-CUNY grant. (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
PSC-CUNY grant. (Grants and Fellowships) 2009
American Heart Association, Grant-in-Aid. (Grants and Fellowships) 2007
Paul Saltman Memorial Lecutre, Gordon Research Conference on Metals in Biology. (Awards and Honors) 2007
Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. (Awards and Honors) 2005
Young Bioenergeticist Award, Biophysical Society. (Awards and Honors) 1998
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
Invited talk at Aix-Marseille Universite. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012
"Development of an Electrochemical Method to Predict Ferric to Ferrous Heme-binding Constants in Heme Proteins." 241st American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
Invited talk at Weizmann Institute of Science. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
Invtied talk at University of Nevada - Reno. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"Metal-Induced Protein Folding." Protein Design Megagroup Meeting. May 21. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"Zinc Protein Folding." Department of Biology, Long Island University. April 12. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
Invited talk at Long Island University. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"Using Synthetic Heme Proteins to Study Nature's Nanomachines." Department of Chemistry, St. Lawrence University. Sept. 29. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009
"Zinc Protein Folding." Department of Chemistry, St. John's University. March 17. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009
"Zinc Protein Folding." Department of Chemistry, Yeshiva University. April 23. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009
"Zinc Protein Folding: Lessons From Synthetic Peptides." Department of Chemistry, SUNY Potsdam. Sept. 29. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009
"Advances in Proteomics. Analytical, Structural and Functional Aspects" lecturer and session chairman. 13th International Meeting on Trace Elements in Man and Animals (TEMA 13). (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
Professional Leadership
Chair, Long Range Planning Committee of the New York Local Section of the ACS Board of Directors. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2013
Counselor, American Chemical Society. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2013
Alternative delegate to the Eastern Analytical Symposium. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2012
Alternate delegate, Eastern Analytical Symposium. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2011
Secretary, New York Local Section of the American Chemical Society. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2011
Alternative councilor, New York Local Section of the American Chemical Society. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2010
Chairman, Brooklyn Chemical Society. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2010
Member, Long Range Planning Committee of the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society New York Section. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2010
Webmaster, New York Local Section of the American Chemical Society. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2007
Community Activities
Co-organizer, 3rd Annual Brooklyn Frontiers in Science Public Lecture. 2012
Exam proctor, U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad. 2012
Co-organizer, 2nd Annual Brooklyn Frontiers in Science Public Lecture. 2011
Exam proctor, U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad. 2011
Co-organizer, Inaugural Brooklyn Frontiers in Science Public Lecture. 2010
Exam proctor, U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad. 2010
Exam proctor, U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad. 2009
Other Professional Activities
Deputy executive officer, CUNY Ph.D. Program in Chemistry. 2013
Deputy executive officer, CUNY Ph.D. Program in Chemistry. 2012
Session chairman, 16th Annual Conference on Environmental Issues. 2011
Student recruitment, represented Brooklyn College and the City of New York University chemistry and biochemistry Ph.D. programs at the 58th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. 2010
Guest editor, Inorganic Chemistry Forum on Biomolecular Design in Inorganic Chemistry. 2006





