ABOUT ME
My name is Lesley-Ann Giddings and I earned my doctorate degree from the laboratory of Sarah O'Connor in the Chemistry department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. My thesis work focused on the elucidation and characterization of plant enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of terpene indole alkaloids, such as vindoline, the precursor to the anticancer agents vincristine and vinblastine. After graduating in 2011, I joined the laboratory of David Newman at the National Cancer Institute, where I became interested in not only characterizing enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of microbial secondary metabolites but I also developed a strong interest in using microbial cocultivation as a means to identify new metabolites that are not produced under standard fermentation conditions. After completing a 3-year postdoctoral appointment as well as two visiting professor positions at Hood College (Frederick, MD) and Carleton College (Northfield, MN), I started a tenure-track position in Middlebury College's department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in Middlebury, VT on January 1st, 2015. On July 1st 2020, I returned to my alma mater, Smith College, to continue my mission to empower and educate women and other underrepresented individuals through science.
I am a natural products chemist interested in exploiting and characterizing secondary metabolic biosynthetic pathways to identify new bioactive agents as well as understand how Nature crafts novel pharmacophores. Our lab approaches these problems by studying microbes (including extremophiles obtained from various EPA Superfund sites in Vermont) and using stressful growth conditions to induce cryptic gene clusters involved in secondary metabolism. We also use basic biochemical techniques to characterize enzymes involved in secondary metabolic pathways.
I have dedicated my time to training talented undergraduates interested in biomedical research. In my lab, undergraduates gain experience in micro- and molecular biology in addition to biochemistry, bioinformatics, and analytical chemical techniques. Notably, students learn how to be critical, independent thinkers who can use a number of interdisciplinary approaches to solve scientific problems. They also get a glimpse of what is entailed to find new lead compounds for drug discovery.