Lynn Zechiedrich

Elizabeth Lynn Zechiedrich is a professor in the department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. Her laboratory's research considers the structure-function properties of DNA and DNA topoisomerases. She was elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2017.

Zechiedrich is the technical Founder of Twister Biotech, a Baylor College of Medicine spinout company.

Research and career In 1997, Zechiedrich was appointed to the faculty at the Baylor College of Medicine. Her research considers the structure-function properties of DNA and DNA topoisomerases. DNA topisomerases are enzymes that modulate DNA structure and function (for example replication, recombination and chromosome segregation), and they are often targets of anti-cancer drugs. Zechiedrich has developed novel mathematical and experimental approaches to characterize the topography of DNA.

Zechiedrich's laboratory has focused on better understanding fluoroquinolones, broad-spectrum antibiotics that target type-2 topoisomerases. which are overproduced by certain anticancer and antibiotic drugs and can cause cell death. She showed that this coiling and knotting transmits stress along the DNA backbone, which promotes the separation of helical strains and exposes DNA bases. Zechiedrich's collaborators made use of electron cryotomography to better understand the three-dimensional structures of DNA. Minimized vectors can be used as substrates for enzymes that act on DNA, as well as serving as gene therapy vectors. Zechiedrich has theorized that minimized vectors could assist in cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease therapies. Selected publications