Janae Baptiste Brown, Ph.D.

Biography

Faculty member since 2022

Dr. Janae Baptiste Brown, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry of Biochemistry at Spelman College. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry/Biochemistry from the University of West Florida and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Her mission as an educator is to empower students for successful careers by fostering an interactive classroom environment that integrates career-building activities. She is also deeply committed to guiding students in research projects by mentoring a team of high school and undergraduate students in her laboratory.

Dr. Brown’s research background is in biochemistry and structural biology of biomolecules involved in bacteria and retroviruses. Her doctoral dissertation research was focused on solving the three-dimensional structure of the feline immunodeficiency virus matrix protein. Her post-doctoral studies centered around structural and functional studies of metalloproteins involved in bacterial nutrient uptake and protein regulation. At Spelman, Dr. Brown’s laboratory aims to perform structural and mechanistic studies of biomolecules that regulate host-pathogen interactions.

Education

• Post-doctoral research fellow, Biochemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of Maryland Baltimore County
• Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Maryland Baltimore County
• B.S., Chemistry/Biochemistry, University of West Florida

Courses Taught

• SCHE101 First year seminar

• SCHE111L General Chemistry I Laboratory

• SCHE311 Biochemistry I

• SCHE312 Biochemistry II

• SCHE313L Biochemistry Laboratory

• SCHE446 Advanced Biochemistry

Research Interests

• Biochemistry

• Enzyme kinetics

• Molecular biology

• Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

• Proteins

• Structural biology

Select Publications

1. Van, V; Brown, JB; Rosenbach, H; Mohamed, I; Ejimogu, N-E; Bui, T; Szalai, V; Chacón, K; Span, I; Smith, AT. Iron-sulfur clusters are involved in post-translational arginylation. Nature Comm. 2023, 14, 458.
2. Brown, JB; Lee, MA; Smith, AT. The structure of Vibrio cholerae FeoC reveals conservation of the helix-turn-helix motif but not the cluster-binding domain. J. Biol. Inorg. Chem. 2022, 27, 485-495.
3. Sestok, AE*; Brown, JB*; Obi, JO; O’Sullivan, SM; Garcin, ED; Deredge, DJ; Smith, AT. A fusion of the Bacteroides fragilis ferrous iron import proteins reveals a role for FeoA in stabilizing GTP-bound FeoB. J. Biol. Chem. 2022, 298, 4, 101808. Asterisks represent co-first authorship.
4. Brown, JB*; Lee, MA*; Smith, AT. Ins and outs: Recent advancements in membrane-protein mediated prokaryotic ferrous iron transport. Biochemistry. 2021, 60, 3277-3291. Invited perspective; asterisks represent co-first authorship.
5. Bou-Nader, C; Muecksch, F; Brown, JB; Gordon, JM; York, A; Peng, C; Summers, MF; Bieniasz, PD; Zhang, J. HIV-1 Matrix-tRNA complex structure reveals basis for host control of Gag localization. Cell Host Microbe. 2021, 29, 1421-1436.
6. Boyd, PS; Brown, JB; Brown, JD; Catazaro, J; Chaudry, I; Ding, P; Marchant, J; O’Hern, CT; Singh, K; Swanson, C; Summers, MF; Yasin, S. NMR studies of retroviral genome packaging. Viruses. 2020, 12, 1115.
7. Brown, JB; Summers, HR; Brown, LA; Marchant, J; Canova, PN; O’Hern, CT; Abbott, ST; Nyaunu, C; Maxwell, S; Johnson, T; Moser, MB; Ablan, SD; Carter, H; Freed, EO; Summers, MF. Structural and mechanistic studies of the rare myristoylation signal of the feline immunodeficiency virus. J. Mol. Biol. 2020, 149, 4076-4091.
8. Winton, AJ; Baptiste, JL; Allen, MA. A versatile expression vector for the growth and amplification of unmodified phage display polypeptides. Protein Exp. Purif. 2018, 149, 31-36.
9. Brown, LA; Cox, C; Baptiste, JL; Summers HR; Button, R; Bahlow, K; Spurrier, V; Kyser, J; Luttge, B; Kuo, L; Freed, EO; Summers, MF. NMR structure of the myristoylated feline immunodeficiency virus matrix protein. Viruses. 2015, 7, 2210-2229.