2002- 2007   Ph.D. in Biochemistry,  University of Texas at Austin; Austin, Texas

2005               M.A. in Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin; Austin, Texas

2001                B.Sc. equivalent, Julius-Maximilians Universität, Würzburg  major: Biochemistry, minor: Microbiology, Genetics and Biotechnology

2017                            Foresight Fellow for catalyzing future technology (Foresight Institute)

2009 – 2012             Career Development Award, NW Regional Center of Excellence (NIAID/NIH)

Jun. 2007                  Professional Development Award, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UT Austin

Jan. 2007                  Travel Award for the “SBE’s First International Conference on Biomolecular Engineering”

Sep. 2006                  Stipend for NIH National Graduate Student Research Festival

Apr. 2006                    Joanne Ravel Award, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UT Austin

American Association for the Advancement of Science (Member)

We are a new lab using computational structural design and protein engineering tools to understand, inhibit and re-purpose biological processes on the protein level. Our main focus is on how to diagnose, prevent and treat viral infections with the aim to generate new anti-virals and candidates for vaccination. While we are studying viral surface proteins principally to understand how we can target them or provide new immunogens, we also seek to shed light on how protein chemistry is involved in making viruses so successful. Viruses and their surface proteins hold the molecular keys for identifying specific host cells, entering them and re-programming them–much of what we will need to fight cancer.

Strauch EM, Bernard S, La D, Bohn A, Nieusma T, Lee P, Garcia NK, Holstein C, Anderson CE, Hooper KA, Trenant M, Sheffler W, Bloom JD, Yager P, Lee KK, Ward A, Fuller D, Wilson IA, Baker D, “Computational design of trimeric influenza-neutralizing proteins targeting the hemagglutinin receptor binding site”, Nat Biotechnol. 2017 Jul;35(7):667-671. doi: 10.1038/nbt.3907

Special reports in:

• Science: “Designer protein halts flu”, DOI: 10.1126/science.aan6958
• Scientific American: “Designing Antiviral Proteins Via Computer Could Help Halt the Next Pandemic”
• ACS Chemical and Engineering News : ”Three-pronged designed peptide neutralizes influenza”, Volume 95 Issue 26 | p. 8 | Concentrates
• the Conversation and LiveScience

Holstein CA*, Anderson CE*, Strauch EM, Bennett S, Chevalier A, Nelson J, Fu E, Baker D, Yager P; Development of a Paper-Based Assay for Whole Influenza Virus Detection using a Computationally Designed Hemagglutinin Head Region Binder, Anal Chem. 2017 Jun 20;89(12):6608-6615. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b00769

Klein JC, Lajoie MJ, Schwartz JJ, Strauch EM, Nelson J, Baker B, Shendure J, “Multiplex pairwise assembly of array-derived DNA oligonucleotides”, Nucleic Acids Res. 2016 Mar 18;44(5):e43. doi: 10.1093

Strauch EM, Fleishman SJ, Baker D, ” Computational Design of a pH-sensitive IgG Binding Protein”, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 2014 Jan 14;111(2):675-80, PMID: 24381156

* = contributed equally