Mark J. Snider

Department/Affiliation: Chemistry; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Phone: 330-263-2391
Office Address: 201 Severance Hall
Email: msnider@wooster.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Degrees

• B.A. Capital University, Chemistry 1997
• Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Biochemistry & Biophysics 2001

Area of Research

• Mechanistic and structural enzymology of aerobic nicotinic acid (Vitamin B3) catabolism in Bordetella species.
• Determining the genes and mechanisms of degradation of antidepressants by bacteria in the environment.
• Functional characterization of novel phosphagen kinases, with the goal of discerning the evolution of substrate specificity, cooperative substrate binding and quaternary structure.

Courses Taught 

• CHEM 101:  Chemistry and the World in Which We Live
• CHEM 110:  Introductory Chemistry
• CHEM 120:  Principles of Chemistry
• CHEM 399:  Biophysical Chemistry
• BCMB 303:  Techniques in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
• BCMB 331:  Principles of Biochemistry
• BCMB 332:  Biochemistry of Metabolism
• BCMB 401:  Introduction to Independent Study
• IDPT 101:  First Year Seminars in Critical Inquiry

I.S. Projects Mentored

• Matthew Henke: Developing a mechanistic proposal for 2,5-dihydroxypyridine-5,6-dioxygenase (NicX) from Bordetella bronchiseptica.
• Matthew Bauerle: Structure-function analysis of 6-hydroxynicotinate 3-monooxygenase (NicC).
• Jonathan Fox: Isolation of bacterial strains in wastewater sludge capable of degradation of sertraline, venlafaxine and triclorcarban.

External Grants Awarded

• Research Corporation for Science Advancement: Multi-Investigator Cottrell College Science Award Program (2012-2014), "Bacterial Degradation of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products During Waste Water Treatment" with Stephanie Strand (Biology) and Melissa Schultz (Chemistry).
• National Science Foundation (2008-2011), "Acquisition of an LC/MS/MS to Enhance Undergraduate Research and Teaching" with Melissa Schultz and Paul Edmiston (Chemistry).
• National Science Foundation (2006-2009), "Acquisition of an Isothermal Titration Calorimeter" with Paul Bonvallet (Chemistry) and Don Jacobs (Physics).
• National Science Foundation (2004-2007), "RUI: Comparative Structure – Function Analysis of Phosphagen Kinases" with Paul Edmiston and Dean Fraga (Biology).

Research Leaves

• 2012-13 with W. W. Cleland in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and with David Ballou in the Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan.
• 2007-08 with Tadhg Begley in the Department of Chemical Biology, Cornell University.

Recent Publications (* denotes Wooster Undergraduate)

• G. K. Schroeder, L. Zhou, M. J. Snider, X. Chen, and R. Wolfenden (2012) Flight of a cytidine deaminase complex with an imperfect transition state analogue inhibitor: mass spectrometric evidence for the presence of a trapped water molecule. Biochemistry 51, 6476-6486.
• J. Bragg, A. Rajkovic*, C. Anderson, R. Curtis, J. V-Houten*, B. Bergres*, C. Naples*, M. Snider, D. Fraga, and M. Singer (2012) Identification and characterization of an arginine kinase from Myxococcus xanthus required from fruiting body formation and cell differentiation; J. Bacteriology 194, 2668-2676.
• V. A. Kincaid*, E. D. Sullivan*, R. D. Klein*, J. W. Noel*, R. S. Rowlett, M. J. Snider (2012) Structure and catalytic mechanism of nicotinate (vitamin B3) degradative enzyme maleamate amidohydrolase from Brodetella Bronchiseptica RB50;Biochemistry 51, 545-554.
• A. Hazra, M. J. Snider, A. Chatterjee, D. Chatterjee, J. W. Hanes, D. G. Hilmey, K. Krishnamoorthy, K. M. Mccullock, S. O'Leary, J. M. Sanders, M. J. Waitner, and T. P. Begley (2009) Coenzyme and prosthetic group biosynthesis; Encyclopedia of Microbiology; Moselio Schaechter, Ed.; Vol. 5, 79-88, Oxford: Elsevier.
• L. D. Andrews*, J. Graham*, M. J. Snider, D. Fraga. (2008) Characterization of a novel bacterial arginine kinase from Desulfotelea psychrophilia - Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry; Part B: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 150: 312-319.
• M. J. Jourden*, C. N. Clarke*, A. K. Palmer*, E. J. Barth*, R. C. Prada*, R. N. Hale*, D. Fraga, M. J. Snider, P. L. Edmiston (2007) Changing the substrate specificity of creatine kinase from creatine to glycocyamine: evidence for a highly evolved active site. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Proteins and Proteomics 1774: 1519-1527.
• M. J. Jourden, M. J. Thomenius, P. R. Geiss, L. A. Horst, M. M. Barty, G. B. Mulligan, R. M. Almeida, B. A. Kersteen, N. R. Myers, M. J. Snider, C. L. Borders, Jr., P. L. Edmiston (2005) Transition state stabilization by six arginines clustered in the active site of creatine kinase. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Proteins and Proteomics 1751: 178-183.
• C. H. Borchers, V. E. Marquez, G. K. Gottfried, S. E. Short, M. J. Snider, P. Speir and R. Wolfenden (2004) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry reveals the presence of a water molecule in an enzyme-transition state analogue complex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - USA 101: 15341-15345.
• M. Snider, B. Temple and R. Wolfenden (2004) The path to the transition state in enzyme reactions: a survey of catalytic efficiencies. Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry 17: 586-591.
• R. Wolfenden and M. J. Snider (2001) The Depth of Chemical Time and the Power of Enzymes as Catalysts. Accounts of Chemical Research 34, 938-945.