2023 Invited Speakers

Professor Stephen Kent

The University of Chicago

Stephen Kent invents synthetic chemistries and uses them to probe the molecular basis of protein function. 

Professor Kent’s research is focused on understanding the molecular basis of protein function, particularly the physical organic chemistry of enzyme catalysis. To that end, his team develop novel methods for the total synthesis of proteins that enable them to apply advanced physical methods in unprecedented ways to understand the chemical origins of protein structure and function. They then demonstrate that knowledge by the design and construction of protein molecules with novel properties.