Citation | John Vederas has made fundamental contributions to the fields of bioorganic and medicinal chemistry by combining development of new and improved methods for chemical synthesis of biologically active molecules with studies of enzymatic reaction mechanisms. His development of novel approaches for stable isotope, eg 2H and 18O, detection in biomolecules using multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance had a major impact on elucidation of fungal biosynthetic pathways, in particular for polyketides, that generate a host of important drugs. His work has also involved discovery and structure elucidation of non- toxic antimicrobial peptides which are important for food preservation and have potential for human therapeutic use. |