Alison Butler

Alison Butler is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She works on bioinorganic chemistry and metallobiochemistry. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1997), American Chemical Society (2012), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019).

Alison Butler
Alma materReed College (B.A.)
University of California, San Diego (Ph.D.)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Los Angeles
California Institute of Technology
University of California, Santa Barbara
Doctoral advisorsRobert G. Linck
Teddy G. Traylor
Other academic advisorsJoan S. Valentine
Harry B. Gray

Early life and education

Butler was fascinated by magnetism as a child.[1] She studied at Reed College, graduating in 1977.[2] Her father was one of the first members of the biology faculty at University of California, San Diego.[3] She started in immunology, but moved into chemistry to work with transition metals.[3] She worked with Professor Tom Dunne on An intramolecular electron transfer study: the reduction of pyrazinepentaaminecobalt (III) by chromium (II).[2] She earned her PhD at University of California, San Diego in 1982 under Robert G. Linck and Teddy G. Traylor.[4] During her graduate studies, Butler read an article about metallo-enzymes in the New Yorker.[1]

Career

Butler worked as a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Los Angeles with Joan S. Valentine and at California Institute of Technology with Harry B. Gray.[4] She was appointed to the faculty at University of California, Santa Barbara in 1986.[4] Here she was awarded an American Cancer Society Junior Faculty Research Award.[4] She was awarded the 34th University of California, Santa Barbara Harold J Plous Award.[5]

She looks to develop new siderophores, small molecules that bind iron in microorganisms.[6] She uses genomics to predict new siderophores, and bioinformatics to discover new siderophores . She explores how siderophores adhere to mica and look at how they can promote surface colonisation.[6] She identified that siderophores become sticky when wet, which may help to develop underwater adhesives.[1][7] Her current research considers the uptake of microbial iron, vanadium haloperoxidases in microbial quorum sensing and cryptic halogenation, bio-inspired wet adhesion using catechol compounds and the oxidative disassembly of lingnin.[6][8][9][10] Her research into the bioinorganic chemistry of iron is funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.[11][12] She studies how transition metal ions are used by marine organisms.[13]

In 2012 she became the President of the Society for Biological Inorganic Chemistry, and served until 2014.[14] She was made a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in July 2012.[15] She delivered the 2016 Douglas Eveleigh Endowed Lecture at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology.[16] In 2018 she was awarded the American Chemical Society Alfred Bader Award for her work on siderophores.[6][17] She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.[18]

References
  1. Harrison Tasoff for UCSB. "Organic Prize for UCSB Inorganic Researcher Alison Butler". Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  2. alan (May 14, 2018). "Alison Butler '77 Receives ACS Bader Award in Bioinorganic Chemistry | Chemistry News". blogs.reed.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  3. "Research Profiles - Alison Butler". University of California Research. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  4. "Alison Butler". www.chem.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  5. "Members - Alison Butler". labs.chem.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  6. Julie Cohen (September 18, 2017). "Ironing Out a Puzzle". The UCSB Current. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  7. "Sticky situation: Researchers study, improve a small molecule that possesses an impressive ability to adhere in wet environments". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  8. "Microbial Iron Uptake". labs.chem.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  9. "Vanadium Haloperoxidases". labs.chem.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  10. "Bio-Inspired Wet Adhesion". labs.chem.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  11. Alison, Butler. "The Bioinorganic Chemistry of Iron". Grantome.
  12. "NSF Award Search: Award#1710761 - Bioinorganic Chemistry of Catechols: Siderophores, Adhesive Proteins and Biomimetic Analogs". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  13. Butler, Alison (1998-07-10). "Acquisition and Utilization of Transition Metal Ions by Marine Organisms" (PDF). Science. 281 (5374): 207–209. doi:10.1126/science.281.5374.207. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 9660742. S2CID 9538550.
  14. "Alison Butler begins term as President of SBIC". labs.chem.ucsb.edu. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  15. "Alison Butler named in the 2012 Class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society". labs.chem.ucsb.edu. July 23, 2012. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  16. "Alison gives the Douglas Eveleigh Endowed Lecture at the MBL sponsored by the Waksman Foundation". labs.chem.ucsb.edu. July 19, 2016. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  17. "Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry". cen.acs.org. doi:10.1021/cen-09602-awards8. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  18. "New 2019 Academy Members Announced". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. April 17, 2019.
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