Stephen Ragsdale
Stephen Ragsdale is a Professor in the Biological Chemistry Department.
Current research focuses on the mechanisms by which microbes generate and utilize energy-rich gases, like hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. Ragsdale and his team culture the microbes, isolate key enzymes, and use biological, biophysical and chemical methods to obtain high resolution structures of these enzymes and to characterize intermediates in the catalytic mechanisms. Uncovering the mechanistic and molecular details of how methane is formed is critical since it is an important fuel and the second most prevalent greenhouse gas.
They also study the mechanism by which microbes generate hydrogen gas and how microbes can convert hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide to supply all their requirements for energy and cellular carbon. The crucial and rate-limiting enzymes involved in these transformations are currently under study and include hydrogenases (catalyze the utilization and generation of hydrogen), methyl-CoM reductase (catalyzes the final step in methane production), carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (catalyzes the utilization and generation of carbon monoxide and the interconversion of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide).
Research in these areas is funded by Department of Energy and National Institutes of Health.
Stephen Ragsdale is a MMPEI Faculty Fellow.