Ross | Biomedical and Molecular Sciences | School of Medicine

Avena Ross PhD in Chemistry, University of Alberta (2012)

Position(s)

Associate Professor

Contact Info

Chernoff Hall, Room 407

Avena Ross obtained her BSc (Hons.) in Chemistry from the University of Auckland in 2005. She then completed her PhD under the supervision of Prof. John Vederas, at the University of Alberta, where she studied the synthesis of lanthipeptides and their analogues. In 2012 she joined the lab of Prof. Brad Moore at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UCSD as an NSERC Postdoctoral fellow. At Scripps her work focused on the biosynthesis of non-ribosomal peptides in marine Proteobacteria. In January 2015, she began an independent position as an Assistant Professor and Queen’s National Scholar in Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at Queen’s University and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2021. Dr Ross currently teaches CHEM 212: Principles of Chemical Reactivity, CHEM 323: Biological Chemistry and CHEM 915: Biosynthesis of Natural Products

Research Interests

The Ross group uses a multidisciplinary approach to investigate marine bacteria as a source for new bioactive molecules and seeks to understand the methods used by bacteria to enzymatically construct these complex molecules. Our work is very interdisciplinary and members of the group obtain skills in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and organic chemistry. Prior experience in one or more of these areas is an asset but not required for success in our team. See the Ross group website for more information: https://arossgroup.com/

Selected Publications

Grenade, N. L.*, Chiriac, D. S.*, Howe, G. W., Ross, A. C. #, Identification of a tambjamine gene cluster in Streptomyces reveals convergent evolution of the biosynthetic pathway, preprint in ChemRxiv., 2020 https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.12899264.v1,
Picott, K. J. *, Deichert, J. A. *, Dekemp, E. M. *, Snieckus, V., Ross, A. C. #, Purification and kinetic characterization of the essential condensation enzymes involved in prodiginine and tambjamine biosynthesis, ChemBioChem, 2020, 21, 1036-1042
Agrawal, P., Salomons, T. T., Chiriac, D. S.*, Ross, A. C. #, Oleschuk, R. D., Facile actuation of organic and aqueous droplets on slippery liquid infused porous surfaces for the application of on-chip polymer synthesis and liquid-liquid extraction, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2019, 11, 28327-28335
Picott, K. J. *, Deichert, J. A. *, Dekemp, E. M. *, Schatte, G., Sauriol, F., Ross, A. C. #, Isolation and characterization of tambjamine MYP1, a macrocyclic tambjamine analogue from marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas citrea, MedChemComm, 2019, 10, 478-483 (Invited for special Natural Products Issue)
Timmermans, M. L.*, Picott, K. J.*, Ucciferri, L.*, Ross, A. C. #, Culturing marine bacteria from the genus Pseudoalteromonas on a cotton scaffold activates silent biosynthetic pathways and alters secondary metabolite production, MicrobiologyOpen, 2018, 8, e724

Team

Research Interests

Selected Publications

Faculty