Kerr Research Group

Russell Kerr

 

Russell G. Kerr
 
Department of Chemistry, and Department of Biomedical Sciences,
Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island
 
Mailing address:
Russell Kerr
University of Prince Edward Island
Duffy Research Centre 
550 University Avenue
Charlottetown PE C1A 4P3
Canada
 
Contacts:
Phone: (902) 566-0565 
Office: Duffy Research Centre, Room 528

 
 
Biographical Information
 
B.Sc. University of Calgary 1982
Ph.D. University of Calgary 1987
Postdoctoral Fellow Stanford Univeristy (with C. Djerassi) 1987 - 1991
Academic Appointments:
1991-1996 Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Florida Atlantic University.
1996-1998 Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Florida Atlantic University.
1998-2006 Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University.
1999-2006 Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Florida Atlantic University.
2000-2006 Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University.
2003-2006 Director, Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology, Florida Atlantic University
2006- Professor & Canada Research Chair, Dept. of Chemistry, UPEI
2006- Professor & Canada Research Chair, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI
Selected Awards:
2010 Lévesque Chair in Nutrisciences and Health
2006 Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Marine Natural Products
2004 Researcher of the Year, Florida Atlantic University
2003 Admitted to “Who's Who in Sciences Higher Education (WWSHE)”
2000 President’s Research Development Award (FAU)
2000 Elected as “Young Observer” for the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
1999 Cancer Drug Discovery study section, American Cancer Society (1999-2003)
1998 Charles Schmidt College of Science Distinguished Teacher of the Year
1997 Elected to Sigma Xi
1997 Phi Kappa Phi faculty award (FAU)
1997 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, Florida Atlantic University
1996 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
1996 Researcher of the Year Award (Assistant Prof. level), FAU
1995 Teaching Incentive Program Award, FAU
1992 American Society of Pharmacognosy Research Initiation Award
Scientific Affiliations:
Chemical Institute of Canada
American Chemical Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Society of Pharmacognosy
American Association for Cancer Research
Editorial Boards:
Letters in Organic Chemistry
Marine Drugs
The Open Organic Chemistry Journal
Research Letters in Organic Chemistry
 

 

Current Projects

 

The impact of natural products on modern society is indisputable given their importance to medicine. As one example, 42% of anticancer and 47% of anti-infective agents introduced over the past 25 years are natural products. While remarkable discoveries have been made, the rate of natural product discovery has declined in recent years, profoundly affecting the development of new therapeutics and the related pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The general aim of many projects in our lab is to conduct research in natural products chemistry and associated microbiology and genetics to develop innovative methods to improve natural product discovery from microbes of marine origin.
 

 

Pseudopterosins

 

The pseudopterosins are a family of diterpene glycosides isolated from the gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. To date, 26 derivatives have been identified (PsA – PsZ) and in most cases, pseudopterosins represent 2-5% of the crude extract. The pseudopterosins are anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents with potencies superior to that of existing drugs such as indomethacin in mouse ear models. They are not active against PLA2, cyclooxygenase and cytokine release or as regulators of adhesion molecules. Evidence suggests the pseudopterosins block eicosanoid release rather than biosynthesis in murine macrophages. Recent data from the Jacobs laboratory (UCSB) indicates that pseudopterosins inhibit inflammation by a novel mechanism suggesting that these metabolites represent a novel class of anti-inflammatory agent. Importantly, one of the pseudopterosins has a substantial commercial market as an additive in personal care products and a simple derivative of pseudopterosin A, methopterosin, has successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial as a topical anti-inflammatory agent.
 
We have a long-standing interest in the biosynthesis of these marine metabolites. We have elucidated the biosynthetic origin of pseudopterosins from geranylgeranyl diphosphate through a series of radiolabeling experiments as well as detailed NMR-directed investigations (Coleman and Kerr 2000, Kohl and Kerr 2003, Ferns and Kerr 2005a, Ferns and Kerr 2005b, Kerr et al. 2006). One of the key steps in the production of the pseudopterosins (and all terpenes) is the cyclization of the appropriate polyprenyl diphosphate. Knowledge of the structure of the cyclase product involved in pseudopterosin biosynthesis provided us with an assay to purify the enzyme responsible for this transformation. This enzyme (elisabethatriene synthase) has been purified to homogeneity (Kohl and Kerr 2004, Brueck and Kerr 2006). A biosynthetic question that is currently under investigation is whether pseudopterosins are produced by the invertebrate host or an associated microbe.

Microbial Diversity

 

Microbes (bacteria and fungi) are the source of all our natural products investigations and are obtained from a wide diversity of marine habitats.  The marine environment represents an underexplored resource for microbial natural product discovery thus improving the likelihood of isolating new compounds.  We are interested in projects directed at assessing microbial diversity using both culture independent and culture dependent methods.  As is evident from the Field Work tab on this web page, we have on-going collection programs in Canada’s Arctic, Colombia, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, The Bahamas as well as Atlantic Canada. 
 

 

Accessing Cryptic Natural Product Biosynthetic Pathways

Through funding from NSERC, we have a number of student and postdoc projects that seek to develop new methods for the isolation of marine-derived microbes thus allowing access to new sources of natural products.  Further, this research program aims to develop new methods to induce natural product production in microbial fermentation and seeks to develop a new chemical tool to efficiently identify new natural products from large sets of complex mixtures.  Lastly, antimicrobial assays of relevance to veterinary medicine will be used to guide the isolation and characterization of new natural products.  Overall, this research program will develop research methods that will enhance the rate of discovery of new bioactive natural products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marine Microbes as a New Source of Ingredients for the Personal Care Industry

 

This project represents an exciting collaboration between our group at UPEI, Nautilus Biosciences Canada and Croda International, a world leader in specialty chemicals.  The collaboration aims to harness the chemical production capabilities of microbes of marine origin for the sustainable production of active ingredients in personal care products. To achieve this goal, we will expand the existing marine microbial collection (the Marine Natural Products Bank, MNPB) through collections of marine sediment, algae and invertebrates in diverse geographic locations.  Microbes will be purified from these samples and fermented under conditions designed to produce natural products with specific properties.  Specifically, extracts of cultured microbes will be tested for the presence of biosurfactants, bioemulsifiers, antimicrobial agents, biofilm dispersants, UV protectants, antioxidants and keratinases.  These activities have been identified as key to personal care products being developed by Nautilus partner Croda. 

 

 

 

 

 

Identification of novel enzymes involved in the breakdown of plant fibre to be used in the development of a ruminant feed additive

In collaboration with Nautilus and AB Vista, we are screening our marine microbial library for enzymes with applications as a feed additive for the ruminant feed industry which can increase fibre digestion.  The overall goal of this project is to identify new novel xylanase, cellulase and endoglucanase activities and accessory enzymes (arabinofuranosidase, xylosidase and glucuronidases) which can be used to develop a new ruminant feed additive which will increase feed efficiency and productivity. 

 

 

 

Research Environment

Kerr Lab Research Environment  
LOCATION:

The Kerr Lab is ideally located on the University of Prince Edward Island campus in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The bacterial and chemical divisions of the lab are centred in the Regis and Joan Duffy Research Centre.  The fungal division of the lab as well as our antibiosis/cell screening division are located in the North Annex of the Atlantic Veterinary College.

Click here to access a full map of the UPEI campus in a new window.
Regis and Joan Duffy Research Centre
 
The Regis and Joan Duffy Resaerch Centre, is home to researchers from UPEI, the National Research Council Institute for Nutrisciences and Health (NRC-INH), and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).  Here they share knowledge, lab space, and specialized equipment and tools as they explore how natural compounds can be used to prevent and treat disease in animals and humans, contributing to the island's growing bioscience cluster.
 
The Regis and Joan Duffy Research Centre boasts an open concept lab environment, which facilitates both the sharing of equipment and knowledge among the researchers.  Both the Chemical and the Bacterial divisions of the Kerr Research lab are located on the fifth floor. 
 
 

 

Atlantic Veterinary College, North Annex

The North Annex expansion of the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) includes both office and laboratory space.  Both the Fungal and the Bioassay (antimicrobial and cell based assay) divisions of the Kerr Research lab are located in our Biosafety Level 2 laboratory at 3rd flour in the North Annex of the AVC.  Additional to our laboratory space, our group also has recourse to Multi User space and equipment that are made available from AVC.
 

 

KerrLab HRMS facility

 

The Kerr Marine Natural Products Lab has state-of-the-art equipment to conduct natural-product drug-discovery research.  Two complimentary LC-HRMS instruments provides our lab with strong capabilities for the analysis of natural product extracts, the quantification of targeted metabolites in complex samples and the study of microbial secondary metabolomes using LC-HRMS assisted with statistical analyses.

The Kerr Lab HRMS facility has recently developed an innovative methodology to dereplicate microbial strains by metabolomics approaches while providing the abilityto identify putative novel chemical entities as natural product discovery leads. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003267013013378

The HRMS facility is available for consultation with all researchers on the UPEI campus as well as other universities to develop collaborative projects and assist researchers with mass spectrometry expertise.  Mass spectrometry service is also available for academic institution and private companies on a fee-for-service basis (service rates).

For more information please contact us, we would be pleased to help you with your sample analysis.

System 1: LC-HRMS-PDA with an Orbitrap LTQ-Velos (Thermo Scientific) using either ESI or APCI ionization source is an ideal system for the quantification and the identification of natural products from pure samples or mixtures. This instrument can also perform tandem mass spectrometry MS(n) experiments and assist researchers with the structure elucidation of unknown molecules.

 

System 2: LC-HRMS-ELSD with an Exactive mass spectrometer (Thermo Scientific) coupled to a universal evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) is a perfect combination for the rapid screening of natural product extracts.

 

 

 

 

 

Contact us

Contact information

Research Manager:

 

Doug Marchbank
dmarchbank.nautilus@gmail.com

 

Mass Spec:

 

Hebelin Correa
hcorreav@gmail.com

 

Location:

Duffy Research Center, room 513

 

Mailing Address:

Duffy Research Centre, rm 513
University of Prince Edward Island
550 University avenue
Charlottetown C1A 4P3, PE

Telephone: 902-566-8051

Main Lab & Equipment

 

 
Lab Space and Equipment
 
 
The lab located on the fifth floor of the Duffy Research Centre forms the base of operations for bacteriology and chemistry oriented research in the Kerr Lab.  The lab houses a wide selection of equipment need for microbiology, molecular biology and chemisty research. To support our natural products chemistry research the lab is equiped with eight fume hoods,  four  rotary evaporators, two vacuum evaporators (GeneVac), an automated flash chromatography system (Teledyne Combiflash Rf), a Thermo Scientific GCMS and four HPLC systems, one of which is connected to a mass spectrometer to enable  mass-guided fractionation. The crown jewels of the lab are two Thermo Scientific Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometers (Exactive and Velos models), which are both connected to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) systems. For natural product structure elucidation a 600 MHz Bruker NMR (housed in the Duffy Research Centre) is made availabe via an agreement with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. To support molecular biology research, the lab is equiped with two gradient-capable PCR thermocyclers, a UVP molecular imager, a Bio-Rad Duo-Flo FPLC system and a variety of electrophoresis supplies.  Microbiology-related equipment includes three New Brunswick Innova 44 shaking incubators, a large ambient temperature platform shaker, two laminar flow hoods, a type II biosafety cabinent, a variety of microscopes and a Steris autoclave. The lab is also equiped with common general use equipment including multiple balances, centrifuges and stationary incubators, two ultralow temperature freezers, two dishwashers and a Millipore MilliQ deionized water system.  A graphical represenation of the lab layout and pictures of various spaces and equipment are shown below. 
 
Our HRMS instruments are the crown jewel of the lab!  The instrument on the left is the Thermo Scientific Exactive HRMS. This instrument is coupeld to a UPLC chromatography system as well as a PDA detector and a universal evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). This instrument provides an ideal platform for the rapid screening of natural product extracts. The instrument on the right is the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap LTQ-Velos. This instrument is also coupled with a UPLC and PDA detector. Using either ESI or APCI ionization sources, this instrument is ideal for the quantification and identification of natural products from pure samples or mixtures.  This instrument can also perform tandem mass spectrometry MS(n) experiments to assist researchers with the structure elucidation of unknown molecules. 
 
 
Our GCMS instrument is a Thermo Scientific Focus GC, which is coupled with a Polaris Q quadrupole ion trap mass analyzer equiped with electron ionization source. This system is ideal for characterizing non-polar metabolites not compatable with reversed-phase LC.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
A recent addition to the lab is a Waters HPLC system coupled to a mass-guided fraction collector.  The system consistes of  two Waters HPLC pumps, a Waters 3100 single quadrupole mass spectrometer and a Waters 2767 fraction collector. This system is designed for both analytical and semi-preparative separations.

 
A second Waters HPLC system is also available for analytical and semi-preparative separations. This system features a manual injector, a Waters 1525 binary HPLC pump, a Waters 2489 dual channel UV/Visible detector, a Waters 2424 ELSD and a Waters 2767 fraction collector.

 
Our Thermo Scientific HPLC system features a Finnigan Surveyor Autosampler Plus, LC Pump Plus, and PDA Plus detector.  It is also conntected to a SEDEX 60 LT ELSD. The system is designed for both analytical and semi-preparative separations.
 
 
 
The latest model in medium-pressure chromatography from Teledyne Isco, the CombiFlash RF, is compact and user-friendly.  The system is equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to allow for automation of parameters for purification and fraction collection.

 
Evaporation is a common occurence in the purification of any natural product. To facilitate rapid evaporation of samples, the lab is equiped with four rotary evaporators (top photo) and two GenVac vacuum evaporators. The GeneVacs are ideal for drug discovery applications as the GeneVac EZ-2 Plus is capable of evaporating all commonly used solvents and most acids quickly and effectively.

 
To facilitate bacterial fermentation, the lab is equipped with four shakers. One is a large ambient temperature platform shaker (bottom photo). The other three (top photo) are temperature controlled Innova 44 shaker incubators. One of these is a refridgerated unit, which allows us to explore the effect of temperature on natural product production.

 
The molecular biology room (Rm 517) contains two gradient-capable thermal cyclers (Eppendorf and Bio-Rad), electrophoresis equipment, an incubator and a laminar flow hood.
 
 

 
To support molecular biology activities the lab is equiped with a Bio-Rad Duo-Flo FPLC (top photo) system, which is used to purify proteins and other biomoleculres. Molecular imaging needs are met by the UVP BioSpectrum imaging system (bottom photo).

 
A multitude of equipment is avialable for general use in the lab including (clockwise from top right) a compound microscope, a -80oC freezer, a Beckman Coulter Allegra 25R centrifuge, a freeze dryer and type II biosafety cabinet.
Room 509 is a common area that houses the autoclave, as well as the dish washers and the Millipore MilliQ deionized water system.

 

Fungal and Bioassay Divisions at the AVC

 
Lab Space and Equipment
 
 
This laboratory space is focused upon fungal isolation, fermentation and extraction in addition to the preparation and evaluation of antimicrobial assays.  Several mulit-user locations are also available on the 3rd floor of the North Annex, where we carry out media preparation, PCR amplification, and cell culture work (in a dedicated cell culture lab).
 
Various incubators allow for culturing pathogens for antimicrobial assays at various temperatures.
Biological Safety Cabinet used for working in a sterile environment
Temperature controlled shaking incubator where we can carry out shaken fermentations of various volumes ranging from 20 mL - 2 L.
 
Temeperature controlled standing incubator where we culture our fungi and carry out static fermentations.
Chemistry work station: fumehood and lab bench.
 
Various tools are available for the extraction and processing of fungal fermentations.
Microscopy work station: Disecting scope and compound microscope used for morphological identification.
 
Shaking Incubator used for culturing seed inoculum for fermenations and assays.

Vacuum concentrator (SpeedVac) used for extract evaporation when generating mother/daughter plates for antimicrobial assays.

Spectrophotometer/Fluorometer and stacking robot used for evaluating results from 96 well assay plates.
Various bench spaces are available to carry out routine lab activities such as DNA extraction and assay plate preparation.

 

Lab Members

We try to get together as a group at least once a month to enjoy activities outside the lab.  The Island is perfect for a variety of seasonal extracurricular events, such as skating, skiing, swimming, scuba diving, and of course, the occasional barbeque.  Please click here or on the picture for some descriptions and pictures of our most recent group outings! 

Research and Office Staff
Russ Kerr
Professor
Phone: 902-566-0565
 
 
Brad Haltli
Research Manager
Phone: 902-418-5125
Doug Marchbank
Research Manager
Phone: 902-418-5130

douglas.marchbank@croda.com
 
 
 
 
Jennifer MacPhail
Administrative Assistant
Phone: 902-620-5035
Postdoctoral Researchers
Chris Cartmell
Postdoctoral Fellow
Phone: 902-566-6064
 
Ben Johnston
Postdoctoral Fellow
Phone: 902-620-5035
  
 
  
 
  
Graduate Students
 
Logan MacIntyre
PhD Student
Anna Kuznetsova
PhD Student
 
Vernon Ptycia-Lamky
MSc Student
 
Hope Igboeli
PhD Student
Zach Maw
PhD Student
 
 
 
 
 
 
Emily Pope
MSc Student
  
 
 
 

 

 

  
 
    

 

Member information

Find more information on the members of the Marine Natural Product Laboratory

Brad Haltli

Research Interests:
 
My research is focused on the discovery of novel bioactive natural products from marine microorganisms. Within this field I am interested in the biology, diversity and biogeography of prokaryotes from marine habitats. I am particularly interested in bacteria beloning to the bacterial class Actinomycetales. I am also interested in the genetic and biochemical processes involved in the production of natural products in marine microorganisms. In the Kerr research group I am responsible for directing mirobiology (bacteria)-related aspects of student projects.
 
 
Education:
 
Bachelor of Science, University College of the Cariboo (Thompson Rivers University), Kamloops, BC, Canada (1998).
Master of Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada (2001)
 
 
Work Experience:
Research Scientist 1, Wyeth Research, Natural Products Discovery Research.  Pearl River, NY, USA, (2001-2008)
Research Manager, University of Prince Edward Island, Kerr Marine Natural Products Laboratory, Charlottetown, PE, Canada (2008 - )
Bacterial NP Discovery Group Leader, Nautilus Biosciences Canada Inc, Charlottetown, PE, Canada (2009-)
 
Publications:
Peer-reviewed Publications

1.      Tangerina M.P., Correa H., Haltli B., Vilegas W., Kerr R.G. Bioprospecting from cultivable bacterial communities of marine sediment and invertebrates from the underexplored Ubatuba region of Brazil. Arch Microbiol. 2017 199: 155-169.
2.      McCauley E.P., Haltli B., Correa H., Kerr R.G. Spatial and temporal investigation of the microbiome of the Caribbean octocoral Erythropodium  caribaeorum. FEMS Micro Ecol. 2016 92: pii: fiw147. doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiw147.
3.      Robertson V.*, Haltli B.*, Overy D., Kerr R.G. Highly variable bacterial communities associated with the octocoral Antillogorgia elisabethae. Microorganisms 2016 4: pii:E23. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms 4030023.
4.      Pastrana-Camacho N., Suárez Z., Acosta-González A., Arango C., Haltli B., Correa H., Kerr R.G., Duque C., Diaz L.E. Bioprospecting for culturable actinobacteria with antimicrobial properties isolated from rivers in Colombian Orinoquia. Trop J Pharm Res. 2016 15: 1259-1265.
5.      Sommer B., Overy D.P., Haltli B., Kerr R.G. Secreted lipases from Malassezia globosa: recombinant expression and determination of their substrate specificities. Microbiology 2016 162: 1069-79.
6.      Herzog B., Overy D.P., Haltli B., Kerr R.G. Discovery of keratinases using bacteria isolated from marine environments. Syst Appl Microbiol. 2016 39: 49-57.
7.       Arens J.C., Haltli B., Kerr R.G. Draft Genome Sequence of Kitasatospora griseola Strain MF730-N6, a Bafilomycin, Terpentecin, and Satosporin Producer. Genome Announc. 2015  3: e00208-15.
8.      McCauley E.P., Haltli B., Kerr R.G. Description of Pseudobacteriovorax antillogorgiicola gen. nov., sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from the gorgonian octocoral Antillogorgia elisabethae, belonging to the family Pseudobacteriovoracaceae fam. nov., within the order Bdellovibrionales. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2015 65: 522-30.
9.      Duncan K.R., Haltli B., Gill K.A., Correa H., Berrué F., Kerr R.G. Exploring the diversity and metabolic potential of actinomycetes from temperate marine sediments from Newfoundland, Canada. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2015 42: 57-72.
10.    Janso J.E., Haltli B.A., Eustáquio A.S., Kulowski K., Waldman A.J., Zha L., Nakamura H., Bernan V.S., He H., Carter G.T., Koehn F.E., Balskus E.P. Discovery of the lomaiviticin biosynthetic gene cluster in Salinispora pacifica. Tetrahedron. 2014 70: 4156-4164.
11.    Duncan K., Haltli B., Gill K. A., Kerr R.G. Bioprospecting from marine sediments of New Brunswick, Canada: exploring the relationship between total bacterial diversity and Actinobacteria diversity. Mar Drugs. 2014 12: 899-925.
12.    Correa H., Haltli B., Duque C., Kerr R.G. Bacterial communities of the gorgonian octocoral   Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae Microb Ecol. 2013 66: 972-85.
13.    Pike R.E., Haltli B., Kerr R. G. Description of Endozoicomonas euniceicola sp. nov. and Endozoicomonas gorgoniicola sp. nov., bacteria isolated from the octocorals Eunicea fusca and Plexaura sp., and an emended description of the genus Endozoicomona.  Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2013 63: 4294-4302.
14.    McCulloch M. W. B., Haltli B., Marchbank D. H., Kerr R. G. Evaluation of pseudopteroxazole and pseudopterosin derivatives against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other pathogens. Mar Drugs. 2012 10: 1711-1728.
15.    McCulloch M.W.B., Berrue F., Haltli B., Kerr R.G. One-pot syntheses of pseudopteroxazoles from pseudopterosins: a rapid route to non-natural congeners with improved antimicrobial activity. J Nat Prod. 2011 74: 2250-2256.
16.    Jiang H., Haltli B., Feng X., Cai P., Summers M., Lotvin J., He M. Investigation of the biosynthesis of the pipecolate moiety of neuroprotective polyketide meridamycin. J Antibiot 2011 64: 533-538.
17.    Berrue F., Withers S. T., Haltli B., Withers J., Kerr R.G.  Chemical screening method for the rapid identification of microbial sources of marine invertebrate-associated metabolites.  Mar Drugs. 2011 9:  369-381.
18.    Liu H., Jiang H, Haltli B., Kulowski K., Muszynska E., Feng X., Summers M., Young M., Graziani E., Koehn F., Carter G. T., Min H.  Rapid cloning and heterologous expression of the meridamycin biosynthetic gene cluster using a versatile Escherichia coli-Streptomyces artificial chromosome vector, pSBAC. J Nat Prod. 2009 72 (3): 389-395.
19.    Ratnayake A. S., Haltli B., Feng X., Bernan V. S., Singh M. P., He H., Carter G.T.  Investigating the biosynthetic origin of the nitro group in pyrrolomycins. J Nat Prod. 2008 71 :  1923–1926.
20.    He M., Haltli B., Summers M., Feng X., Hucul J.A.  Isolation and characterization of the meridamycin biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces species NRRL 30748.  Gene. 2006 377: 109-118.

21.   Magarvey N. A., Haltli B., He M., Greenstein M. and Hucul J.A.  Biosynthetic pathway for mannopeptimycins, lipoglycopeptide antibiotics active against drug-resistant gram-positive pathogens. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2006 50: 2167-2177.

22.   Haltli B., Tan Y., Magarvey N.A., Wagenaar M., Yin X., Greenstein M., Hucul J.A., Zabriskie T.M. Investigating beta-hydroxyenduracididine formation in the biosynthesis of the mannopeptimycins. Chem Biol. 2005 12(11): 1163-1168. 
23.   Ritacco F. V., Haltli  B., Janso J. E., Greenstein M., Bernan V.S.  Dereplication of Streptomyces soil isolates and detection of specific biosynthetic genes using an automated Ribotyping instrument. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2003 30: 472-479.

 

Logan MacIntyre

Research Interests:

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Education:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Work Experience:
 
Publications:
 

Hope Igboeli

Research Interests:
 
 
Education:
 
 
Work Experience:
 
 
Publications:

Chris Cartmell

 

Research Interests:

I am a driven natural product chemist with a strong interest in mass spectrometry and the discovery and development of new bioactive natural products and their analogues from both marine and terrestrial sources. Completing my BSc at the University of Bangor in north Wales, an area of outstanding natural beauty, cultivated my interest for natural products which lead to my PhD studies at the University of St Andrews under the supervision of Professor Rebecca Goss. My current research focuses on identification, isolation, and structural elucidation of novel natural products along with the development of accessing silent or cryptic biosynthetic pathways.

Education:

2015 - 2019 - PhD Chemistry, University of St Andrews, Scotland, United Kindgom

2012 - 2015 - BSc Chemistry, University of Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom

Publications: 

E. Pope, C. Cartmell, B. A. Haltli, R.G. Kerr and A. Ahmadi. Microencapsulation and In-SituIncubation to Improve the Recovery of Bacteria from Marine Habitats. In preparation

C. Cartmell, S. K. Wheatly, B. A. Haltli, R.G. Kerr and A. Ahmadi. Development of a Micro-Microbe Domestication Pod for In-Situ Cultivation. Submitted to Lab on a Chip

Z. S. S. Al-Taie, C. Cartmell, R. T. Froom, R. G. Kerr, P. J. Murphy* and A. van Teijlingen. Synthesis of (+)-(R)-Tiruchanduramine. Submitted to Tetrahedron 

E. Naseri, C. Cartmell, M. Saab, R. G. Kerr and A. Ahmadi. Development of NOCC-Starch Biomaterial Inks for 3D Printed Wound Dressing Applications. Macromolecular Biosciences. 2021 

A. L. Grunwald, C. Cartmell, R. G. Kerr. Auyuittuqamides A-D, Cyclic Decapeptides from Sesquicillium microsporum RKAG 186 Isolated from Frobisher Bay. Journal of Natural Products. 2020 

T. Alkayyali, E. Pope, S. K. Wheatley, C. Cartmell, B. A. Haltli, Russ G. Kerr, and A. Ahmadi. Development of Microbe Domestication Pod (MD Pod) for In-Situ Cultivation of Micro-encapsulated Marine Bacteria. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 2020

C. Cartmell, A. Abou Fayad, R. Lynch, S. V. Sharma, N. Hauck, B. Gust, R. J. M. Goss. SynBio-SynChem Approaches to Diversifying the Pacidamycins through the Exploitation of an Observed Pictet- Spengler Reaction. ChembioChem, 2020

E. Naseri, C. Cartmell, M. Saab, R. G. Kerr and A. Ahmadi. Development of 3D printed drug-eluting scaffolds for preventing piercing infection. Pharmaceutics, 12, (9), 901, 2020 

C. Cartmell, C. Pubill-Ulldemolins, S. V. Sharma, J. Zhao, P. Cárdenas, R. J. M. Goss. Diversification Through Heck Cross-Coupling of Indole-Based Substrates in H2O: From Unprotected Halotryptophans to Halotryptophans in a Natural and a New to Nature Natural Product. Chemistry, a European journal. (25) 2019

Y. Renault, R. Lynch, E. Marelli, S. V. Sharma, J. Sharp, C. Cartmell, P. Cárdenas, R. J. M. Goss. Buchwald Hartwig Diversification of Unprotected Halotryptophans, Halotryptophan Containing Tripeptides and the Natural Product Barettin in Aqueous Conditions. Chemical communications. 2019

C. Cartmell, D. M. Evans, J. M. L. Elwood, H. S. Fituri, P. J. Murphy T. Caspari, B. Poniedziałek, P. Rzymski. Synthetic Analogues of Cyanobacterial Alkaloid Cylindrospermopsin and Their Toxicological Activity. Toxicology In Vitro. (44): 172-181. 2017

M. J. Corr, S. V. Sharma, C. Pubill-Ulldemolins, R. T. Bown, P. Poirot, D. R. M. Smith, C. Cartmell, A. Abou Fayad, R. J. M. Goss. Sonogashira Diversification of Unprotected Halotryptophans, Halotryptophans Containing Tripeptides and Generation of a New to Nature Bromo-Natural Product and its Diversification in Water. Chemical Science. (8): 2039-2046. 2017

S. V. Sharma, X. Tong, C. Pubill-Ulldemolins, C. Cartmell, E. J. A. Bogosyan, E. J. Rackham, E. Marelli, R. B. Hamed, R. J. M. Goss. Living GenoChemetics by Hyphenating Synthetic Biology and Synthetic Chemistry In Vivo. Nature Communications. (8) 2017 

Contact:

Email: ccartmell@upei.ca

Phone: 1-902-620-5035

Doug Marchbank

Research Interests:
 
My research is primarily focused on the discovery and development of natural products with a range of applications in human health and wellness. Our team utilizes a LC/MS-based metabolomics approach to profile microbial extracts and identify potentially novel compounds through statistical analysis. This work also includes purification and structure elucidation of natural products and characterization of their properties. My efforts are also focused on the synthesis of natural product analogues to expand our knowledge of structure-activity relationships and develop new lead compounds. As a senior chemist with Nautilus Biosciences, I am interested in the development of organic UV filters, biosurfactants, antimicrobials, and antioxidants.
 
Education:
 
PhD, University of Prince Edward Island (2013)
BSc (Hons) in Chemistry, University of Prince Edward Island (2008)
 
Work Experience:
Research Manager, Chemistry Department, University of Prince Edward Island (2015 - present)
Senior Scientist, Nautilus Biosciences Canada Inc., Charlottetown, PE, Canada (2015 - present)
Research Assistant, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB, Canada (2014 - 2015)
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Prince Edward Island (2013)
 
Publications:
McCulloch, M.W.B.; Haltli, B.H.; Marchbank, D.H.; Kerr, R.G. Evaluation of pseudopteroxazole and pseudopterosin derivatives against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other pathogens. Mar. Drugs 2012, 10, 1711-1728.
Marchbank, D.H.; Berrue, F.; Kerr, R.G. Eunicidiol, an anti-inflammatory dilophol diterpene from Eunicea fusca. J. Nat. Prod. 2012, 75, 1289-1293.
Marchbank, D.H.; Kerr, R.G. Semisynthesis of fuscoside B analogues and eunicosides, and analysis of anti-inflammatory activity. Tetrahedron 2011, 67, 3053-3061.

Nautilus colleagues

   

 

Brad Haltli

Doug Marchbank

Hebelin Correa-Velandia

  
Stephanie Duffy  
Noelle Duncan  
Josh Kelly 
 
 
Alyssa Grunwald
 
Nick McCarville  
Kate McQuillan  
 

Stacey Kerr

      
 
File: 
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Image icon Catherine Malo.jpg
Image icon Kate McQuillan.jpg
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Alumni

Former Lab Members 
  Kelly Richard
Research assistant
 
Sutaporn Bunyajetpong
PhD 2011
  Simon Berger
MSc 2011
Jeanna McLeod
BSc 2011
Saskia Hart
Research Assistant
Katherine Duncan
PhD 2012
Malcolm McCulloch
Post Doc 2009-2012
Katheryn Hay
BSc 2012
Christie Ings
BSc 2012
Jeanetta McGinley
BSc 2012
David Forner
BSc 2012
Troy Cumberlach
Visiting Student 2011-2012
Ann Hanseebaran
Visiting Student 2011-2012
Andi Hanif
Post Doc 2011-2012
Ghada Ebead
PhD 2013
Quinn Gill
Summer Student 2013
 
Saranyoo Klaiklay
Visiting Student 2012-2013
Veronica Robertson
PhD 2013
Doug Marchbank
PhD 2013
Rebecca Pike
PhD 2013
Marieke Vansteelandt
Post Doc 2012-2013
Gavin Carr
Post Doc
Ramesh Jagannathan
Post Doc
Beth Buchanan
PhD 2014
 
Michael Marner
Visiting Student 2014
Fabrice Berrue
Research Manager
Marcelo Tangerina
Visiting Student 2014-2015
Jennifer Vacon
BSc 2015
Jennifer Arens
PhD 2015
Patricia Boland
Research Assistant

Krista Gill
PhD 2016
Erin McCauley
PhD 2017
Alyssa Grunwald
PhD 2017


Andrew Robertson
Postdoc Fellow 2015 - 2017


Stacey Goldberg
PhD 2019


Flore Caudal
Intern 2019
Libang Liang
PhD 2020
 


Sarah Robin
Intern 2020

    

 

Stacey Goldberg

Research Interests:

Advancement of molecular methods for identification of bromotyrosine alkaloid derivatives from marine sponges and assessment of their therapeutic potential.
 
Marine sponges provide unique and diverse niches for microbial communities, where bacterial symbionts can account for up to 60% of the mesohyl biomass. Since habitat diversity typically correlates with microbial diversity and in turn, chemical diversity, it is not surprising that marine sponges are known for their rich arsenal of bioactive secondary metabolites. A high percentage of these metabolites belong to an interesting family of brominated tyrosine derived alkaloids that display antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties. There is increasing evidence that the symbiotic microbes are the true producers of these secondary metabolites, rather than the invertebrate host. Since a great majority of sponge microbes do not remain viable in culture, access to their secondary metabolites is limited. Thus, new approaches are needed to address this major obstacle of sustainably fermenting bioactive metabolites. The objective of this research is to assess the microbial diversity of selected marine sponges and determine the ability of sponge-associated microbes to produce brominated bioactive compounds. This will be accomplished by combining conventional methods with novel molecular-based approaches to study key genes involved in the biosynthesis of brominated compounds. The origin of the genes will then provide evidence to determine the biosynthetic producers of these brominated bioactive metabolites.
 
Education:
 
Ph.D. University of Prince Edward Island, Canada  (Sept 2012 - May 2019)
Biomedical Sciences, Marine Natural Products
 
M.S. Johns Hopkins University, Maryland  (Sept 2002 - Sept 2005)
Biotechnology
 
B.S. Towson University, Maryland  (Sept 1996 - Dec 2000)
Biology with Chemistry minor
 
Work Experience:
 
Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, St. George’s, Bermuda
Phytoplankton Ecology Lab – Marine Particle Imaging Lab
Research Technician (Jul 2010 –May 2012)
 
Responsibilities: Managed the Flow Cytometry Facility (MARPIL), through which every project in the Phytoplankton Ecology Lab (and other labs) was executed. In less than 2 years, became an expert in operating and troubleshooting the BD Influx flow cytometer and cell sorter and developed optimal efficiency for completing enumeration and 90-99% pure sorting of oceanic samples (phytoplankton, heterotrophic bacteria, and eukaryotes). As a Scientist on the R/V HSBC Atlantic Explorer (research vessel), executed Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) deployment, stable isotope incubations, and filtrations of ocean water samples. Solely responsible for converting MARPIL into a mobile ‘at sea’ lab on cruises lasting 5 – 17 days, for a total of 2 months at sea. This accomplishment placed me in a category of one of a few other scientists in the world who have been able to achieve a fully functioning flow lab at sea.
 
Meso-Scale Discovery, Maryland
Critical Reagents Group
Research Associate (Jan 2009-Jul 2010)
 
Responsibilities: Contributed to the development of sandwich based ELISA “type” assays, utilizing MSD proprietary Electro-chemiluminescence (ECL) and multi-array technologies, which are used by research laboratories and drug development companies around the world to analyze disease states through the characterization and quantification of biomarkers. Responsible for assessing and optimizing the critical reagents used to develop MSD assays that provided highly sensitive, quantified, reproducible results. Maintained inventory, proper handling and storage of critical reagents utilized for assays. •
 
Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Maryland
Immunology Vaccine Assessment Group
Research Specialist (Dec 2005-Dec 2008)
 
Responsibilities: Supervised the Vaccine Assessment group devoted to assessment of Tuberculosis vaccine studies using a variety of in vitro immunoassays, and executed analysis of multi-color flow cytometry data. Focused on looking for poly-functionality of cells and correlations with protection of TB. Successfully accelerated the validation and qualification of human Intracellular cytokine assay for use in Pre-clinical and Phase I clinical trials according to GLP regulations, and was responsible for writing qualified standard operating procedures (SOP) required for maintaining quality control of the assays.
 
Johns Hopkins University, Maryland
Cancer Research Department
Senior Lab Technician Jun 2002-Dec 2005
 
Responsibilities: Supported clinical oncology trials for AML/CML, Multiple Myeloma, and Hodgkins Lymphoma, where patients received GM-CSF producing vaccines. Processed clinical blood samples using density-gradient centrifugation (ficoll), isolated plasma and PBMC’s, and used cells in a variety of assays to assess immune response to vaccines.
 
 
Publications:

Goldberg S., Mueller S., Brichetti J., Sadoff J. Cryo-preserved Whole Blood (WB) for use in Cell Mediated Immunity (CMI) Assays, Poster on behalf of Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation. TB Vaccines for the World Conference, Atlanta, GA (2008).

Casey, J.R., Aucan J.P., Goldberg S.R., Lomas M.W. Changes in partitioning of carbon amongst autotrophic pico- and nanoplankton groups in response to changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation. Deep Sea Research II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (Feb 2013).

Goldberg, S. Advancement of molecular methods for identification of bromotyrosine alkaloid derivatives from marine sponges and assessment of their therapeutic potential. Graduate Studies and Research Days, AVC, University of Prince Edward Island (2013). Gold Prize Award.

Leon Liang

Research Interests:
 
Secondly metabolite induction of microbial; biological screening methods; Organic synthesis.
 
Education:
 

2011-2013 Chemical Engineering, Hainan University

2013-present (transfer) Chemistry(Undergraduate), UPEI

 
Work Experience:
 
 
Publications:
 
CHEN Da, JIA Chun-man, ZHANG Chun-yan, ZHANG Qi, CAO Li, SUN Lu, LIANG Li-bang. Synthesis of γ-Nitro Ester Compounds by Solvent-free Ball-milling Method[J]. Fine Chemicals, 2014, 31(1): 124-128.

Group Activities

 
Fun Events Outside the Lab
 
 

Kerr Lab Christmas 2014

The lab spent the evening celebrating the holiday season with good food and drink and a gift exchange.

[more pictures]
 

Kerr curling outing

The lab spent the afternoon at the rink on April 1st 2012

1st Kerr Golf Tournament

The lab spend the afternoon at the green for the first annual Kerr Golf Tournament on June 24th 2011

[more pictures]

Deep Sea Fishing Adventure

The lab tried out their fishing techniques at Wade's Deep Sea Fishing in September 2010

[more pictures]

 Maritime Natural Products Conference 2010

The second annual Maritime Natural Products Conference was held at UPEI August 31 - September 2, 2010

[more pictures]

Lab Retreat 2010

First Annual Kerr Group Lab Retreat at Camp Riverdale July 2010

[more pictures]

Football at Greenwich National Park

 

Our football skills were put to the test on this blustery day in late May, 2009.  The boardwalk was beautiful, the scenery was stunning, the air was fresh, and the food at PEI's best "Fish & Chips" spot was delicious! 

 

[more pictures]
 
Skating on the "Puddle"
 
Every now and again the unversity campus acquires its own pond, which is really nothing more than a huge puddle.  This November, we decided to test our skating skills -- for some of us it was the first time in years!  It was a lunch break to remember!
 
 
 
 
 
Skiing at Brookvale
 
Our lab members come from many different countries.  Some of them saw snow for the first time this winter!  We decided to give them a true PEI welcome at Brookvale Provincial Ski Park.
 
 
 
IUPAC Conference
 
On July 13th to 18th, 2008, we hosted the IUPAC Conference on Biodiverstiy and Natural Products.  The program included plenary lectures, invited lectures, and Oral/Poster presentations, as well as plenty of opportunities to tour our beautiful island!  The conference finale included a catered lobster meal on a beach.
 
 
Bioquest
 
On October 17, 2008, the Kerr group participated in Bioquest, during which 200 grade five students from around the Maritimes are invited to come and enjoy hands-on demonstrations of science in the real world.  We had a fantastic day with these young and enthusiastic learners.
 
 
 
Party at the Cottage!
 
We kicked off the summer of 2008 in style at Russ and Stacey's cottage. There was badminton, soccer, swimming, boating,clam-eating, and of course, a delicious barbeque on the deck!
 
 
 
 
 

 
   
   

 

IUPAC 2008

   
   
   
   

 

Party at the Cottage

   

 
   
   
   
   
   

Skating on the "Puddle"

 
   
   
   

 

Skiing at Brookvale

   

 

Bioquest

   
   
   

Football at Greenwich

   
   
   
   
   

Field Work

Marine Natural Products Lab expeditions

San Salvador 2014

Examining samples in the wet lab
Gorgonian growth rate study. 
Demonstration of water pumping action of a sponge. 
 

 

Turkey 2012

The town of Kas, Turkey – the departure location of one of our dive trips.
Brad – collecting in the murky waters.  
Bulent (our local guide and sponge taxonomist) with Brad on hotel balcony (= temporary lab).
Brad processing samples in hotel room.  

 

San Salvador 2012

The group visiting the Columbus monument.
A picnic in the back of one of the Gerace trucks!
Setting up a gorgonian Aquaculture project.

 

2011 Expedition to Iqaluit, Nunavut

Exploring Canada's Arctic as a Source of Novel Natural Products

Brad Haltli, September 2011

Canada's arctic is a cold and forbidding region of the world.  This diverse area is often thought to be relatively devoid of biolgical diversity and most people associate the arctic with relatively few large mammals such as polar bears, muskox, seals, walruses and whales, as well as a variety of migratory bird species.  This view of the arctic largely ignores microbial diversity.  Several studies in the arctic have examined general bacterial diversity of tundra and the diversity observed has rivalled that of tropical soils.  The majority of the studies conducted to date have been concerned with bacterial diveristy as it relates to climate change and bioremediation of contaminated soils.  The aim of the 2011 expedition to Iqaluit was to obtain a number of terrestrial soil and intertidal marine sediment samples so that we could assess microbial diversity of this arctic region  from a natural product discovery perspective.  We will characterize the microbial diversity using a combination of culture independent and culture dependent methodologies.  We will subsequently evaluate bacteria cultured from these samples for the ability to produce novel bioactive metabolites.  Our hypothesis is that novel bacterial and fungal biodiversity will be discovered from arctic samples which will coincided with the production of novel natural products from these unique microbes.  

Below are some photographs that document this expedition:

 Iqaluit airport.

Iqualuit, view from western shore of Frobisher Bay.

View looking over Iqaluit into Frobisher Bay.

Nunavut Arctic College Old Residence - my home for a week.

Nunavut Research Institute - research facilities.

Nunavut Research Institute Lab - very nice labs!!  Many thanks to the faculty and staff at the Nunavut Research Institute for their help throughout the duration of the collecting expedition.

My trusty steed for the week - a Yamaha Big Bear ATV.

Self portrait of Brad Haltli collecting samples in the tundra.

Tarr Inlet south east of Iqaluit at extreme low tide.

Inlet on west side of Frobisher Bay at extreme low tide.

Silvia Grinnell River in Silvia Grinnell Territorial Park.

View from Qaummaarviit Territorial Park into Frobisher Bay.

Iceberg in Frobisher Bay.

Collecting site south of Iqaluit.

Collecting site south of Iqaluit at low tide.

Sediment sample.

Collecting site on the tundra.

Lichens.

Pond on the Tundra.

Pond scum.

Arctic Cotton Grass in foreground. 

Canadian Eskimo Dogs.

The 4 Corners - cross roads in the heart of Iqaluit.

Polar bear.....luckily the closest I came to seeing a polar bear was this stuffed specimen at a museum in Iqaluit .

Tundra surrounding Iqaluit from the airplane.

Silvia Grinnell River from the airplane.

Highlands west of Iqaluit.....snow on September 3rd!!!

2010 Expedition to Barbados

Februrary 2010 Trip to Barbados

Grad students Jennifer Cuillerier, Rebecca Pike, and Beth Pearce accompanied Brad Haltli, and Russ Kerr for a week in Barbados to conduct field work. We were joined by two graduate students in Dr. Tinto’s group – Ann Seebaran and Troy Cumberbatch. Collections of invertebrates were conducted for the purpose of isolating microbes for drug discovery projects, and Jenn, Becca and Beth conducted field work for a Marine Natural Products course.
Beach across the road from rental house
Becca, Russ, Jenn and Winston
Becca, Beth and Jenn
Ann, Troy and Jenn outside the dive shop
Becca and Jenn getting ready for a dive
Jenn, Russ, Ann, Troy, Brad, Becca and Beth
Renatta Goodridge, local sponge
taxonomist (UWI) joined us for a few dives.
One of the colourful dive boats that we used.
   

 

2009 Expedition to Barbados

November 2009 Collection Trip to Barbados

Fabrice Berrue, David Overy and Russ Kerr traveled to Barbados to initiate a collaboration with Dr. Winston Tinto (University of West Indies, Cave Hill). Collections were focused on the south coast of the island using the services of EcoDivers.

The goals of the trip were to collect invertebrates and algae and also to isolate microbes from selected invertebrate samples.

 
Dr. Motra-Meira’s lab (UWI) – graciously made available to us for sample processing and microbiology work
Fabrice – ready to dive!
Fabrice and David collecting
     

 

2009 Expedition to Newfoundland

 

. 

Newfoundland August 2009

During the summer of 2009 we enjoyed various collecting trips to regions of PEI, the Bay of Fundy and Newfoundland. 
Bonne Bay Marine Station provided an ideal base for our first trip to Newfoundland. Collections included invertebrates,
algae and sediment as components of our growing drug discovery program
Ian and Gavin – our young helpers for the week
Lots of great lab space at Bonne Bay
   

 

2008 Expedition to the Bahamas

Our 2008 Collection Trip to the Bahamas
 
 
In August, we visited the Gerace Research Centre located on San Salvador in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.  This was a highly successful trip with samples collected from a variety of habitats including reefs, caves and marine lakes.  Samples are now being processed for our drug discovery program and microbiological studies. 
 
 
 
 
 
An aereal view of the airport on San Salvador - one of our dive sites is directly off shore from the runway.   
 
The Gerace cafeteria. 
Our dive boat for the week.
 
Dovi, Veronica, Fabrice, Doug and Russ
 
Stacey collecting
 
Off on the search...
 
 
 
Stacey meets a very friendly grouper known by the locals as Sponge Bob!
A specimen of Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae in the ziploc bag ready for micro work back at the lab.
 
Collecting a gorgonian for microbiological work. 
Brad and Fabrice collecting Erythropodium.
Brad - off to the lab.
 
Veronica and Brad processing samples for microbiological work.
 
 Fabrice examining a gorgonian. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

2007 Expedition to the Florida Keys

The trip to Florida was largely directed at collections of invertebrates and algae for a drug discovery program. Rather than staying on a research vessel as we have done in the past, this trip involved small boats with hotel rooms sometimes being used as a lab! Collections were made off Boca Raton, Key Largo, Marathon Key and Summerland Key. At Summerland Key, we stayed at the Mote Tropical Research Lab which is an ideal location for such field work

 

Publications

120. Sperlich J, Kerr R, Teusch N. The Marine Natural Product Pseudopterosin Blocks Cytokine Release of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Monocytic Leukemia Cells by Inhibiting NF-κB Signaling. Mar Drugs. 2017 Aug 23;15(9). pii: E262. doi: 10.3390/md15090262. PubMed PMID: 28832545; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5618401.

119. Overy D, Correa H, Roullier C, Chi WC, Pang KL, Rateb M, Ebel R, Shang Z, Capon R, Bills G, Kerr R. Does Osmotic Stress Affect Natural Product Expression in Fungi? Mar Drugs. 2017 Aug 13;15(8). pii: E254. doi: 10.3390/md15080254. PubMed PMID: 28805714; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5577608.

118. Grunwald AL, Berrue F, Robertson AW, Overy DP, Kerr RG. Mortiamides A-D, Cyclic Heptapeptides from a Novel Mortierella sp. Obtained from Frobisher Bay. J Nat Prod. 2017 Oct 27;80(10):2677-2683. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.7b00383. Epub 2017 Sep 18. PubMed PMID: 28921982.

117. Forget SM, Robertson AW, Overy DP, Kerr RG, Jakeman DL. Furan and Lactam Jadomycin Biosynthetic Congeners Isolated from Streptomyces venezuelae ISP5230 Cultured with N(ε)-Trifluoroacetyl-l-lysine. J Nat Prod. 2017 Jun 23;80(6):1860-1866. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.7b00152. Epub 2017 May 18. PubMed PMID: 28520425.

116. Abd-El-Aziz AS, Agatemor C, Etkin N, Bissessur R, Overy D, Lanteigne M, McQuillan K, Kerr RG. Quaternized and Thiazole-Functionalized Free Radical-Generating Organometallic Dendrimers as Antimicrobial Platform against Multidrug-Resistant Microorganisms. Macromol Biosci. 2017 Jul;17(7). doi:10.1002/mabi.201700020. Epub 2017 Mar 31. PubMed PMID: 28371348.

115. Robertson V, Haltli B, McCauley EP, Overy DP, Kerr RG. Highly Variable Bacterial Communities Associated with the Octocoral Antillogorgia elisabethae. Microorganisms. 2016 Jul 5;4(3). pii: E23. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms4030023. PubMed PMID: 27681917; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5039583.

114. Tangerina MM, Correa H, Haltli B, Vilegas W, Kerr RG. Bioprospecting from cultivable bacterial communities of marine sediment and invertebrates from the underexplored Ubatuba region of Brazil. Arch Microbiol. 2017 Jan;199(1):155-169. doi: 10.1007/s00203-016-1290-9. Epub 2016 Sep 19. PubMed PMID: 27644133.

113. McCauley EP, Haltli B, Correa H, Kerr RG. Spatial and temporal investigation of the microbiome of the Caribbean octocoral Erythropodium caribaeorum. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2016 Sep;92(9). pii: fiw147. doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiw147. Epub 2016 Jul 4. PubMed PMID: 27381833.

112. Sommer B, Overy DP, Haltli B, Kerr RG. Secreted lipases from Malassezia globosa: recombinant expression and determination of their substrate specificities. Microbiology. 2016 Jul;162(7):1069-79. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.000299. Epub 2016 Apr 29. PubMed PMID: 27130210.

111. Herzog B, Overy DP, Haltli B, Kerr RG. Discovery of keratinases using bacteria isolated from marine environments. Syst Appl Microbiol. 2016 Feb;39(1):49-57. doi: 10.1016/j.syapm.2015.10.004. Epub 2015 Nov 9. PubMed PMID: 26607323.

110. Abd-El-Aziz AS, Agatemor C, Etkin N, Overy DP, Lanteigne M, McQuillan K, Kerr RG. Antimicrobial Organometallic Dendrimers with Tunable Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria. Biomacromolecules. 2015 Nov 9;16(11):3694-703. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.5b01207. Epub 2015 Oct 16. PubMed PMID: 26452022.

109. Johnston CW, Connaty AD, Skinnider MA, Li Y, Grunwald A, Wyatt MA, Kerr RG, Magarvey NA. Informatic search strategies to discover analogues and variants of natural product archetypes. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2016 Mar;43(2-3):293-8. doi: 10.1007/s10295-015-1675-9. Epub 2015 Sep 8. PubMed PMID: 26350080.

108. Sommer B, Overy DP, Kerr RG. Identification and characterization of lipases from Malassezia restricta, a causative agent of dandruff. FEMS Yeast Res. 2015 Nov;15(7). pii: fov078. doi: 10.1093/femsyr/fov078. Epub 2015 Aug 21. PubMed PMID: 26298017.

107. Poddutoori PK, Bregles LP, Lim GN, Boland P, Kerr RG, D'Souza F. Modulation of Energy Transfer into Sequential Electron Transfer upon Axial Coordination of Tetrathiafulvalene in an Aluminum(III) Porphyrin-Free-Base Porphyrin Dyad. Inorg Chem. 2015 Sep 8;54(17):8482-94. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5b01190. Epub 2015 Aug 13. PubMed PMID: 26270270.

106.  Arens JC, Haltli B, Kerr RG. Draft Genome Sequence of Kitasatospora griseola Strain MF730-N6, a Bafilomycin, Terpentecin, and Satosporin Producer. Genome Announc. 2015 Mar 26;3(2). pii: e00208-15. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.00208-15. PubMed PMID: 25814608; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4384148.

105. Gill KA, Berrué F, Arens JC, Carr G, Kerr RG. Cystargolides, 20S Proteasome Inhibitors Isolated from Kitasatospora cystarginea. J Nat Prod. 2015 Apr 24;78(4):822-6. doi: 10.1021/np501060k. Epub 2015 Mar 13. PubMed PMID: 25769015.

104. McCauley EP, Haltli B, Kerr RG. Description of Pseudobacteriovorax antillogorgiicola gen. nov., sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from the gorgonian octocoral Antillogorgia elisabethae, belonging to the family Pseudobacteriovoracaceae fam. nov., within the order Bdellovibrionales. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2015 Feb;65(Pt 2):522-30.

103. David Overy, Paul Bayman, Russell Kerr and Gerald Bills.  An assessment of natural product discovery from marine (sensu strictu) and marine-derived fungi. Mycology: an International Journal on Fungal Biology, 5, 145-167 (2014).

102. David P. Overy, Fabrice Berrue, Hebelin Correa, Novriyandi Hanif, Kathryn Hay, Martin Lanteigne, Kathrine McQuilian, Stephanie Duffy, Patricia Boland, Ramesh Jagannathan, Gavin S. Carr, Marieke Vansteeland & Russell G. Kerr.  Sea foam as a source of fungal inoculum for the isolation of biologically active natural products.  Mycology: an International Journal on Fungal Biology.  DOI:10.1080/21501203.2014.931893  (2014).

101. Krista A. Gill, Fabrice Berrué, Jennifer C. Arens and Russell G. Kerr. Isolation and structure elucidation of cystargamide, a lipopeptide from Kitasatospora cystarginea.  J Nat Prod  DOI  10.1021/np500122s (2014).

100. Michelle A. Markus, Jonathan Ferrier, Sarah M. Luchsinger, Jimmy Yuk, Alain Cuerrier, Michael J. Balick, Joshua M. Hicks, K. Brian Killday, Christopher W. Kirby, Fabrice Berrue, Russell G. Kerr, Kevin Knagge, Tanja Gödecke, Benjamin E. Ramirez, David C. Lankin, Guido F. Pauli, Ian Burton, Tobias K. Karakach, John T. Arnason, Kimberly L. Colson.  Distinguishing Vaccinium Species By Chemical Fingerprinting Based on NMR Spectra, Validated with Spectra Collected in Different Laboratories" Planta Medica 80, 732-739 (2014).

99. Michael R. van den Heuvel, Natacha S. Hogan, Gillian Z. MacDonald, Fabrice Berrue, Rozlyn F. Young, Collin J. Arens, Russell G. Kerr, Phillip M. Fedorak.  Assessing accumulation and biliary excretion of naphthenic acids in yellow perch exposed to oil sands-affected waters.  Chemosphere 95, 619–627 (2014).

98. E. Marchal, Md. Uddin, D. SMithen, C. Hawco, M. Lanteigne, D. Overy, R. Kerr and A. Thompson.  Antimicrobial activity of non-natural prodigiosenes.  RSC Advances,  3, 22967-22971 (2013). 

97. Gavin Carr, Fabrice Berrue, Saranyoo Klaiklay, Isabelle Pelletier, Russell G. Kerr.  Natural products with protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitory activity.  Methods, 65, 229-238 (2013).

96. Rebecca E. Pike, Brad Haltli, and Russell G. Kerr.  Description of Endozoicomonas eunicicola sp. nov. and Endozoicomonas gorgonicola sp. nov., Bacteria Specifically Associated with the Gorgonian Octocorals, Eunicea fusca and Plexaura sp., and an emended description of the genus Endozoicomonas.   Int. Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 63, 4294 - 4302  (2013).

95. David Forner, Fabrice Berrué, Hebelin Correa, Katherine Duncan, and Russell G Kerr.  Chemical dereplication of marine actinomycetes by LC-HRMS profiling and statistical analysis.  Analytica Chemica Acta, 805, 70 - 79 (2013).

94. Jennifer Arens, Fabrice Berrue, Jason Pearson and Russell Kerr. Isolation and structure elucidation of satosporin A and B: new polyketides from Kitasatospora griseola. Organic Letters, 15, 3864 - 3867 (2013).

93. Hebelin Correa, Brad Haltli, Carmenza Duque, Russell Kerr.   Bacterial Community of the Gorgonian Octocoral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  Microbial Ecology 66, 972 – 985 (2013).

92. Ghada Ebead, David Overy, Russell Kerr.  Westerdykella reniformis sp. nov., producing the antibiotic metabolites melinacidin IV and chetracin B.  IMA Fungus, 189-201 (2012). 

91. Fabrice Berrue, Malcolm McCulloch, Patricia Boland, Saskia Hart, Mary Kay Harper, James Johnson, Russell G. Kerr.  Isolation of steroidal glycosides from the Caribbean sponge Pandaros acanthifolium.  J. Nat. Prod. 75, 2094- (2012).

90. Angela Duque-Alarcon, Lory Santiago-Vazque, Russell Kerr.  Microbial community analysis of the octocoral Eunicea fusca. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 15, no. 5 (2012). 

89. Malcolm McCulloch, Brad Haltli, Douglas Marchbank, Russell Kerr.  Evaluation of pseudopteroxazole and pseudopterosin derivatives against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other pathogens.  Marine Drugs, 11, 1711 – 1728 (2012).

88. Douglas H. Marchbank, Fabrice Berrue, Russell Kerr.  Eunicidiol, a new anti-inflammatory dilophol diterpene from Eunicea fusca.  J. Nat. Prod. 75 (7), 1289-93 (2012).

87. Hebelin Correa, Fabrice Berrué, Brad Haltli, Carmenza Duque, Russell Kerr.  Rapid construction of a library of natural products from the cultivation of 14 bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes, symbionts of the octocoral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae of Isla de Providencia.  J. Colombian Academy of Science (Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias), 35(136), 337-348 (2011).

86. Malcolm McCulloch, Fabrice Berrue, Brad Haltli and Russell Kerr. One-pot syntheses of pseudopteroxazoles: a rapid route to non-natural congeners with improved antimicrobial activity.  J. Nat. Prod. 74, 2250-2256 (2011).

85. Fabrice Berrue, Malcolm McCulloch, Russell Kerr. Marine diterpene glycosides.  Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 19, 6702-6719 (2011). 

84. Fabrice Berrue, Sydnor T. Withers, Brad Haltli, Jo Withers, and Russell G. Kerr.  Chemical screening method for invertebrate-associated bacteria involved in the production of secondary metabolites present in the host organism. Marine Drugs, 9, 369-381 (2011).

83. Douglas H. Marchbank and Russell G. Kerr. Semisynthesis of fuscoside B analogues and eunicosides, and analysis of anti-inflammatory activity.  Tetrahedron, 67, 3053-3061 (2011). 

82. Hebelin Correa, Fabio Aristizabal, Carmenza Duque and Russell Kerr.  Cytotoxic and Antimicrobial Activity of Pseudopterosins and seco-Pseudopterosins Isolated from the Octocoral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae of San Andrés and Providencia Islands (SW Caribbean).  Marine Drugs, 9, 334-344 (2011).

81. Jose Lopez, A. Ledger, Lory Santiago-Vázquez, M. Pop, Llanie Ranzer, Richard Feldman, Russell G. Kerr.  Suppression subtractive hybridization PCR isolation of cDNAs from a Caribbean soft coral.  Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 1418 01 (2011). 

80. Maysoon Saleh and Russell G. Kerr.  Identification of the cyclase product and its first oxidation product in the biosynthesis of fuscol and fuscosides.  Aust. J. Chem. 63, 901-906 (2010). Invited contribution. 

79. Abhijeet S. Kate, Amber C. Kohl and Russell G. Kerr.  A simple and sensitive APCI-LC-MS method for the detection of the antitumor agent, carmustine (BCNU) in rat plasma.  J. Liq. Chromatogr. & Related Technol.  33, 818-824 (2010). 

78. Abhijeet S. Kate, Kelly Richard, Balaji Ramanathan, and Russell G. Kerr.  A halogenated pseudopterane diterpene from the Bahamian octocoral Pseudopterogorgia acerosa.  Can. J. Chem. 88, 318-322 (2010).

77. Jose Lopez, Benoit Mouzon, Peter McCarthy, Russell Kerr.  The many faces of gene expression profiling: transcriptome analyses applied towards elucidating marine organismal interactions and metabolism.  Textbook on Molecular Biotechnology. IK International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd (AUUP), ISBN 978-93-80026-37-4. Pp 287-304 (2009).

76. Abhijeet Kate, Jason Pearson, Balaji Ramanathan, Kelly Richard, Russell Kerr.  Isolation, biomimetic synthesis and biological activity of bis-pseudopterane amines. J. Nat. Prod. 72(7), 1331-1334 (2009). 

75. Fabrice Berrue, Abdelnasser Ibrahim, Patricia Boland and Russell Kerr.  A newly isolated marine Bacillus pumilus SP21: a source of novel lipoamides and other antimicrobial agents.  Pure and Applied Chemistry  81, 1027-1031 (2009).

74. Jamie Frenz and Russell Kerr.  Sesquiterpene variability in the Gorgonian Genus Plexaurella.  Comp. Biochem. and Physiol. C 150, 125-131 (2009)

73. Jose Lopez, Lanie Ranzer, A. Ledger, Schoch, Alan Duckworth, Peter McCarthy and Russell Kerr.   Comparison of Bacterial Diversity within the Coral Reef Sponge, Axinella corrugata and the Encrusting Coral Erythropodium caribaeorum.  Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. Florida, 1355 - 1359, (2009)

72. Russell Kerr.  Pseudopterosin production: the promise and challenges.  Chapter in “Vision and Future of Investigations in Parasitology and Natural Products” Republic of Columbia, Bogota, pgs 399 – 410, (2009).

71. Fabrice Berrue and Russell G. Kerr.  Dipterpenes from gorgonian corals.  Nat. Prod. Rep., 26, 681–710 (2009). 

70. Llanie K Ranzer, Thomas Brueck, Wolfram Brueck, Jose Lopez, Russell Kerr.  A new prokaryotic farnesyldiphosphate synthase from the octocoral Eunicea fusca: differential display, inverse PCR, cloning and characterization.  Marine Biotechnology, 11, 62 (2009).   

69. Abhijeet Kate, Isabelle Aubry, Michel Tremblay and Russell Kerr. Lipidyl pseudopteranes A-F: isolation, biomimetic synthesis and PTP1B inhibitory activity of a novel class of pseudopteranoids from the gorgonian Pseudopterogrogia acerosa.  J. Nat. Prod., 71, 1977-1982 (2008). 

68. Angela P. Duque-Alarcón, Lory Z. Santiago-Vázquez, Julie Enticknap, Nasser Alam and Russell Kerr Diversity of Coral Eunicea fusca Associated Bacteria Using Culture Dependent Techniques. Res. J. Microbiol. 10: 614-621, (2008).

67. Mohammad Al-Ghoul, Thomas Brueck, Janelle Lauer-Fields, Victor Asirvatham, Claudia Zapata, Russell Kerr and Gregg Fields.  Comparative proteomic analysis of matched primary and metastatic melanoma cell lines.  Journal of Proteome Research, 7 (9) 4107–4118, (2008).

66. Jamie L. Frenz-Ross, Julie J. Enticknap and Russell G. Kerr.  The effect of bleaching on the terpene chemistry of Plexaurella fusifera: evidence that zooxanthellae are not responsible for sesquiterpene production.  Marine Biotechnology, 10, 572-578 (2008). 

65. Lory Z. Santiago-Vázquez, Thomas B. Brück, Wolfram M. Brück, Angela P. Duque-Alarcón, Peter J. McCarthy and Russell G. Kerr.  The diversity of the bacterial communities associated with the azooxanthellate hexacoral Cirrhipahtes lutkeni.  Journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology, 1, 654-659 (2007). 

64. Lory Z. Santiago-Vázquez, Nealie C. Newberger, and Russell G. Kerr. Cryopreservation of the dinoflagellate symbiont of the octocoral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  Marine Biology, 152, 549-556 (2007).

63. Thomas Brueck, Wolfram Brueck, Lory Z. Santiago-Vázquez, Peter McCarthy and Russell G. Kerr.  Diversity of the bacterial communities associated with the azooxanthellate deep water octocorals Leptogorgia minimata, Iciligorgia schrammi and Swiftia exertia.  Marine Biotechnology, 9, (2007). 

62. Xing Dai, Zhongliang Wan, Russell G. Kerr, and Huw M. L. Davies.  Synthetic and isolation studies related to the marine natural products (+)-elisabethadione and (+)-elisabethamine.  J. Org. Chem. 72, 1895-2000 (2007).

61. Lory Z. Santiago-Vázquez,  Llanie K. Ranzer, and Russell G. Kerr. Comparison of two total RNA extraction protocols using the marine gorgonian coral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae and its symbiont Symbiodinium sp. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 9(5), (2006).  

60. M. Isabel Nieto, Noemi Gonzalez, Jamie Rodriguez, Russell G. Kerr and Carlos Jimenez.  New cytotoxic cembranolides: isolation, biogenetic studies and synthesis of analogues.  Tetrahedron 62, 11747-11754 (2006). 

59. Nealie Newberger, Llanie Ranzer, Jennifer Boehnlein and Russell Kerr.  Induction of terpene biosynthesis in the dinoflagellate symbionts of the Caribbean gorgonian corals of the genera Pseudopterogorgia and Eunicea.   Phytochem. 67, 2133-2139 (2006). 

58. Russell G. Kerr, Amber Kohl and Tyrone Ferns.  Elucidation of the biosynthetic origin of the anti-inflammatory pseudopterosins.  J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 33, 532-538 (2006). 

57. Thomas Brueck and Russell Kerr.  Purification and kinetic properties of elisabethatriene synthase from the coral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  Comp. Biochem. and Physiol.  Part B 143, 269-278 (2006). 

56. Tyrone Ferns and Russell Kerr.  Oxidations of erogorgiaene in pseudopterosin biosynthesis.  Tetrahedron  61, 12358-12365 (2005). 

55. Jennifer Boehnlein, Lory Santiago-Vazquez and Russell Kerr.  Diterpene biosynthesis by the dionflagellate symbiont of the Caribbean gorgognian Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata.  Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 303:105-111 (2005). 

54. Tyrone Ferns and Russell Kerr.  Identification of amphilectosins as key intermediates in pseudopterosin biosynthesis.  J. Org. Chem. 70, 6152-6157 (2005). 

53. Russell G. Kerr, Jennifer Boehnlein, Nealie Newberger and Llanie Ranzer.  Concentrations of anti-inflammatory compounds increased in culture studies of coral, microalgae.  Global Aquaculture Advocate,  70, (2004).

52. Jamie Frenz, Amber Kohl and Russell Kerr Kerr; Marine Natural Products as Therapeutic Agents – Part 2. Expert Opinion on Therpeutic Patents; 14, pp 17-33 (2004).

51. Amber Kohl and Russell Kerr.  Identification and characterization of the pseudopterosin diterpene cyclase, elisabethatriene synthase, from the marine gorgonian, Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 424, 97-104 (2004). 

50. Maysoon B. Saleh and Russell G. Kerr.  Oxidation of Tyrosine Diketopiperazine to DOPA Diketopiperazine with Tyrosine Hydroxylase.  J. Nat. Prod.  67, 1390-1391 (2004).

49. Amber Kohl and Russell Kerr.  Pseudopterosin biosynthesis: Aromatization of the diterpene cyclase product, elisabethatriene. Marine Drugs, 1, 54-65 (2003).

48. Laura Mydlarz, Robert Jacobs, Jennifer Boehnlein and Russell Kerr.  Evidence that the origin of pseudopterosinn biosynthesis resides in the dinoflagellate symbiont of Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  Chemistry and Biology, 10, 1051-1056 (2003).

47. Amber Kohl and Russell Kerr A postulated biosynthetic origin of pseudopterosins and a proposed chemoenzymatic production method.  J. Indust. Microbiol. 30, 495-499 (2003).

46. Athar Ata, Russell Kerr, Claudia Moya and Robert Jacobs.  Identification of anti-inflammatory diterpenes from the marine gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  Tetrahedron.  59, 11389 (2003).

45. J. Cho, J. Choi, I Kong, S. Park, R. Kerr and Y. Hong.  A procedure for axenic isolation of the marine microalgae Isochrysis galbana from heavily contaminated mass cultures. J. Appl. Phycol. 14, 385-390 (2002).

44. Noemí González, Jaime Rodríguez, Russell G. Kerr and Carlos Jiménez.  Cyclobutenbriarein A, the First Diterpene with a Tricyclo[8.4.0.03,6]tetradec-4-ene Ring System from the Gorgonian Briareum asbestinium.  J. Org. Chem.  67, 5117-5123, (2002). 

43. Renee S. Thornton and Russell G. Kerr.  Induction of Pseudopterosin Biosynthesis in the Gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  J. Chem. Ecol.  28, 2083-2090 (2002). 

42. Jinghai Wen and Russell Kerr.  Purification and Characterization of the Fatty Acid Synthase from Bugula neritina. Comp. Biochem. and Physiol. Part B, 128, 445-450 (2001). 

41. Russell Kerr, Amber C. Kohl, Jennifer M. Boehnlein, “Bioactive Compounds from Bryozoans” in “Marine Biotechnolgy” Volume 6, Elsevier, 2001. 

40. Russell Kerr; Biosynthesis of Marine Natural Products, in “Studies in Natural Product Chemistry”, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam; Vol. 21 pp 293-328 (2000). 

39. Amber Coleman and Russell Kerr.  Radioactivity-guided Isolation and Characterization of the Bicyclic Pseudopterosin Diterpene Cyclase Product from Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  Tetrahedron,  56, 9569-9574 (2000).

38. Shanti Jeedigunta, Joann Krenisky and Russell Kerr.  Diketopiperazines as advanced intermediates in the biosynthesis of ecteinascidins.  Tetrahedron 56, 3303-3307 (2000).

37. Athar Ata and Russell Kerr.  Elisabethamine: a new diterpene alkaloid from Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae.  Tetrahedron Letters 41, 5821-5825 (2000).

36. Samina Naz, Russell Kerr and Ramaswamy Narayanan.  New antiproliferative epoxysterols from Pseudopterogorgia americana.  Tetrahedron Letters 41, 6035-6040 (2000).

35. Athar Ata and Russell Kerr. 12-Acetoxypseudopterolide: A New Diterpene from Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Heterocycles, 53, 717 (2000).

34. Amber C. Coleman, Laura Mydlarz and Russell Kerr.  In Vivo and In Vitro Investigations into the Biosynthetic Relatedness of the Pseudopterosins. Organic Letters, 1, 2173-2175 (1999).

33. Paul Andrade, Robin Willoughby, Shirley Pomponi and Russell Kerr.  Biosynthetic Studies of the Alkaloid, Stevensine, in a Cell Culture of the Marine Sponge Teichaxinella morchella.  Tetrahedron Letters, 40, 4775-4778 (1999).

32. R.G. Kerr and S.S. Kerr; Marine Natural Products as Therapeutic Agents. Expert Opinion on Therpeutic Patents; 9, 1207-1222 (1999).

31. Russell Kerr, Richard Vicchiarelli and Stacey Kerr.  Identification and biosynthetic origins of sterols in the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina.  J. Nat. Prod. 62, 468-470, (1999). 

30. Russell Kerr and Kathleen Kelly.  An enzyme-based formaldehyde assay and its utility in a sponge sterol biosynthetic pathway.  J. Nat. Prod. 62, 201-202, (1999).

29. Jens Knauer, Russell Kerr, David Lindley and Paul C. Southgate.  Sterol Metabolism of Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) Spat. Comp. Biochem. and Physiol.,119B, 81 - 84 (1998).

28. Russell Kerr, Cathy Foss, Shigeki Matsunaga and Nobohiro Fusetani.  Isolation and structure elucidation of epipolasterol and 22,23 dihydroepipolasterol from the marine sponge Epipolasis sp.  Comp. Biochem. and Physiol.,117B, 5651-563 (1997). 

27. Russell Kerr and Lesbeth Rodriguez.  A chemoenzymatic production of 9(11)-secosteroids using and enzyme preparation of the gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia americana.  In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology 33, 20A (1997). 

26. Russell Kerr, Lesbeth Rodriguez and Jaelle Kellman.  A chemoenzymatic synthesis of 9(11)-secosteroids using an enzyme extract of the marine gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia americana., Tetrahedron Letters. 37, 8301 (1996).

25. Russell Kerr, Joseph Lawry and Kim Gush.  In vitro biosynthetic studies of the bryostatins, anti-cancer agents from the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina., Tetrahedron Letters. 37, 8305 (1996).

24. Xueshu Zhang, Ruiwen Zhang, Hui Zhao, Hongying Cai, Kimberly Gush, Russell Kerr, George Pettit and Andrew Kraft.  Preclinical Pharmacology of the Natural Product Anticancer Agent Bryostatin 1, an Activator of Protein Kinase C. Cancer Research 56, 802 (1996).

23. Russell Kerr and Neil Miranda.  Biosynthetic studies of ecteinascidins in the marine tunicate Ecteinascidia turbinata.  J. Nat. Prod. 58, 1618 (1995). 

22. Russell Kerr, Kathleen Kelly and Aaron Schulman.  A novel biosynthetic route to pregnanes in the marine sponge Amphimedon compressa.  J. Nat. Prod. 58, 1077 (1995). 

21. Russell Kerr and Zhengjian Chen.  In vivo and in vitro biosynthesis of saponins in Sea Cucumbers (Holothuroidea).  J. Nat. Prod. 58, 172 (1995).

20. Russell Kerr and Michelle Kelly-Borges.  Biochemical and morphological heterogeneity in the Caribbean sponge Xestospongia muta.  Sponges in Time and Space, Proc. Int. Porifera Congress, 4th 65-73 (1994).

19. Russell Kerr, S.L. Kerr, Jane Formont, Martin Riddle and Peter Murphy.  Chemotaxonomic relationships within, and comparisons between, the orders Haplosclerida and Petrosida (Porifera: Demospongiae) using sterol complements.  Biochem. Syst. Ecol.  22, 735 - 52 (1994).

18. R.G. Kerr and P. Southgate; Isolation of gorgosterol from symbiont-free giant clam eggs and larvae. Comp. Biochem. and Physiol 104B, 707 (1993).

17. B.J. Baker and R.G. Kerr; Biosynthesis of Marine Sterols. in "Topics in Current Chemistry" 167, 1-31 (1993).

16. R.G. Kerr and B.J. Baker;  Marine Sterols - A Review.  Nat. Prod. Rep.  8, 465 (1992).

15. R.G. Kerr, S.L. Kerr, S. Malik and C. Djerassi; Biosynthetic Studies of Marine Lipids 38.  Mechanism and Scope of Sterol Side Chain Dealkylation in Sponges; Evidence for Concurrent Alkylation and Dealkylation.  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114, 299 (1992).

14. R.G. Kerr, S.L. Kerr and C. Djerassi; Biosynthetic Studies of Marine Lipids 26.  Elucidation of the Biosynthesis of Mutasterol, a Sponge Sterol with a Quaternary Carbon in its Side Chain.  J. Org. Chem. 56, 63 (1991). 

13. R.G. Kerr, S.L. Kerr, G.R. Pettit, D.L. Herald, T.L. Groy and C. Djerassi;  Sterols of Marine Invertebrates 63.  Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Sutinasterol, the Major Sterol of the Marine Sponge Xestospongia sp.   J. Org. Chem. 56, 58 (1991).

12. R.G. Kerr, B.J. Baker, S.L. Kerr and C. Djerassi; Biosynthetic Studies of Marine Lipids 29.  Demonstration of Sterol Side Chain Dealkylation Using Cell-Free Extracts of Marine Sponges.  Tetrahedron Lett. 31, 5425 (1990).

11. R.G. Kerr, I.L. Stoilov, J.E. Thompson and C. Djerassi;  Biosynthetic Studies of Marine Lipids 16.  De Novo Sterol Biosynthesis in Sponges.  Incorporation and Transformation of Cycloartenol and Lanosterol into Unconventional Sterols of Marine and Freshwater Sponges.  Tetrahedron 45, 1893 (1989).

10. S. Malik, R.G. Kerr and C. Djerassi; Biosynthetic Studies of Marine Lipids 19.  Dealkylation of the Sterol Side Chain in Sponges.  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 110, 6895 (1988).

9. M.L. Cordeiro, R.G. Kerr and C. Djerassi; Biosynthetic Studies of Marine Lipids 15.  Conversion of Parkeol (Lanost-9(11),24-dien-3b-ol) to 14a-methylcholest-9(11)-en-3b-ol in the Sea Cucumber Holothuria arenicola.  Tetrahedron Lett. 2159 (1988).

Collaboration and Sponsorship

Research is currently sponsored by the following agencies.

 
 
 
The Jeanne and J.-Louis Lévesque Foundation
 
 
 
Innovation PEI PEI
 
 
The Atlantic Innovation Fund