Lazarina Butkovich

 About Lazarina

• Advisor: Michelle O'Malley
• Department: Chemical Engineering
• Campus: UCSB
• BioPACIFIC MIP Research: SET 1 - Bioderived Materials

 What is your research focus?

Secondary metabolites are often chiral and possess subunits with unique chemistries; these subunits would be interesting building blocks for use in the BioPACIFIC MIP SET 1: Bioderived Materials. Anaerobic gut microbiomes are largely under-explored for novel secondary metabolites. Previously, the O’Malley Lab has highlighted promising biosynthetic gene clusters in fungi and bacteria from large herbivore guts. Polyketides and nonribosomal peptides are two secondary metabolite classes of high interest, due to their assembly-line-style synthesis and distinct building blocks. As a 2021 BioPACIFIC MIP Fellow, I am currently using the Living BioFoundry resources at UCLA to analyze compounds produced by biosynthetic gene clusters that I have prioritized for study based on in silico genome mining. I apply an LC-MS/MS metabolomics screen to identify novel compounds produced by heterologous expression of prioritized genes. I will then develop HPLC separation schemes to isolate target compounds and subsequently characterize them with NMR or MicroED. Subunits of these novel compounds can be selected for polymerization and combinatorial biosynthesis, forming polymers with unique chemistries.

 What excites you about NSF BioPACIFIC MIP?

I am a 2021 BioPACIFIC Fellow, and I am interested in continuing on as a 2022 BioPACIFIC MIP Fellow. My experience as a BioPACIFIC MIP Fellow has been positive, and I have had great opportunities for networking, collaboration, and mentorship. My collaboration with Prof. Yi Tang’s lab has provided me with valuable natural products expertise. In continuing as a 2022 BioPACIFIC MIP Fellow, I would value the perspectives of downstream BioPACIFIC MIP members who would be working with the building blocks I biosynthesize. As a continuing fellow, I would benefit from the interdisciplinary nature of the BioPACIFIC MIP in the coming year of my research, as this experience will help inform my avenues for future discoveries and career opportunities.