Dr. John Vederas
Fellow
Current Employer
University of Alberta
Election Year
1997
Academy
Academy of Science
Discipline
Chemistry
Department
E3344 Gunning/Lemieux Chemistry Centre
Keywords
Organic chemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology, peptides, polyketides
Dr. John Vederas is an organic chemist who has made original and outstanding contributions to bio organic chemistry. He discovered and pioneered the use of oxygen-18 nuclear magnetic resonance isotope shifts for the detection and location of 18O labels introduced during biosynthesis of polyketide antibiotics and amino acid metabolites. He has combined creativity in synthesis with knowledge of enzyme mechanism to develop novel inhibitors for essential bacterial enzymes. Recently he has studied the structure and mode of action of the bacteriocin family of polypeptide antibiotics. John Vederas is also recognized for excellence in undergraduate teaching of organic chemistry.