Catherine (Cathy) Drennan is an American biochemist and crystallographer. She is the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Biochemistry professor at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and a professor at the

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...

Early life and education

Drennan grew up in New York with her parents (a medical doctor and anthropologist). She received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

, working in the laboratory of Professor Miriam Rossi. After college, Drennan spent time as high school science and drama teacher, in a quaker run school in Iowa. She received her PhD in biological chemistry from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1995, working in the laboratory of the late Professor Martha L Ludwig. Drennan's thesis is titled "Crystallographic studies of FMN and Vitamin B12 Dependent Enzymes: Flavodoxin and Methionine Synthase". After her PhD, she joined Douglas Rees as a postdoctoral fellow in the California Institute of Technology. During her time as a postdoctoral fellow, in 1997, she started and led the undergraduate poster competition at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) annual meeting. She also served on the ASBMB Education and Professional Development Committee. Drennan is dyslexic, but believes this has advantages in science, "don't listen to what anyone tells you what you can or cannot do...there is no dyslexia ceiling". At high school, Drennan was told "she was probably not even going to graduate high school because of her dyslexia".

Research

Drennan joined the faculty at the

in 1999. At

, Drennan focuses on innovation in education and fundamental research. She is interested in the future of college classrooms and creating a positive learning environment for diverse groups of students. She is recognized for her contributions to science pedagogy. In 2006 Drennan was named an HHMI Professor and awarded a $1 million grant to support educational initiatives for "Getting Biologists Excited about Chemistry". Drennan has studied enzymes that employ vitamin B12 since she was a graduate student. Her research focus is metalloproteins and

metalloenzymes Metalloprotein is a generic term for a protein that contains a metal ion cofactor. A large proportion of all proteins are part of this category. For instance, at least 1000 human proteins (out of ~20,000) contain zinc-binding protein domains al ...

, and developing structural approaches to visualize enzymes. Her group uses

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles ...

and

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a hi ...

to characterize metalloproteins in action. She is interested in conformational change during catalysis. Her work also contributes to protecting the environment, as metals act as molecular helpers in chemical reactions. Drennan is the author of over 100 Protein Data Bank submissions.

Awards and honors

*2000 **Surdna Foundation Research Award **Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Chair *2001 - Searle Scholar *2002 - Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers *2003 - ASBMB–Schering–Plough Research Institute Scientific Achievement Award *2004 - Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award *2005 - Everett Moore Baker Memorial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching *2006 - Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor *2008 - Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator *2017 - Winter Commencement Bicentennial Alumni Award *2020 **American Academy of Arts and Sciences member **Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Award, The Protein Society *2021- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fellow *2023 **Structural Science Society (ACA) Fellow **

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

member

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drennan, Cathy Living people University of Michigan alumni American women biochemists American crystallographers Vassar College alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Scientists with dyslexia American scientists with disabilities 21st-century American women scientists 21st-century American biochemists Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers