David Bickar
Associate Professor of Chemistry Smith College

D. Bickar role model Wile E. Coyote
Office: Sabin-Reed 331
Office Hours: my schedule
Phone/Fax (413) 585-3837 / (413) 585-3786
email: dbickar@science.smith.edu
EDUCATION
Ph. D. Duke University, Biochemistry, 1983 Thesis: "The Interactions of Cytochrome c Oxidase with Hydrogen Peroxide."
B.A. Reed College, Chemistry, 1976

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Smith College, 1992 - present.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Smith College, 1986-1992. 
Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Lecturer in Biochemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 1984-1986. NATO Research Fellow, University of Essex, Colchester, England, 1983-1984.

COURSES
Spring/Fall 2008 I will be on sabbatical, and will not be teaching. I can be reached, with sometimes a small delay, by email.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research has diverged into three distinct areas; the first focuses on the mechanisms of electron transfer and oxygen reduction, and the proteins that catalyze these reactions. Much of my work has been on the enzymes of the mitochondrial electron transport pathway. The second area of my research is to identify the mechanism by which a group of structurally similar compounds are selectively toxic to the neurons in one small region of the brain. The death of these neurons results in Parkinson's Disease, and exposure to these compounds can cause the onset of symptoms that are similar or identical to those of classical Parkinsonism, except in young victims. The generally accepted belief is that the compounds act by causing a fatal inhibition of the electron-transport pathway in the mitochondria of these neurons. However, preliminary results from my lab suggest the toxicity may be caused instead by their binding to a receptor on the cell membrane, triggering a series of responses that lead finally to the death of the cell. My last area of study is the design and preparation of self-organizing chemical systems, based on the ligand affinities and coordination properties of metal complexes. Such systems may provide information about key steps in the origin of life.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

*Tran, Khanh-Van and Bickar, D. "Dakin -West Synthesis of  ß-Aryl Ketones" J. Org. Chem.71, 6640-4443 (2006).

Hall, A., *Hoffmaster, R., *Stern, E., Harrington, M. and Bickar, D. "Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Neurons are Glucose-sensitive" J. Biol. Rhythms 12, 388-400 (1997).
Bickar, D. and Reid, P. "A High-Affinity Protein Stain for Western Blots, Tissue Prints and Electrophoretic Gels" Analyt. Biochem. 203, 109-115 (1992).
Wilson, M. and Bickar, D. "Cytochrome Oxidase as a Proton Pump" J. Bioenerget. Biomemb. 23, 755-771 (1991).
*Kim, S. and Bickar, D. "Spontaneous Peptide Bond Formation Under Origin of Life Conditions" Biophys. J. (Abst.) 57, 62 (1990).
Bickar, D., Turrens, J. and Lehninger, A. "The Mechanism by which Oxygen and Cytochrome c Increase the Rate of Electron Transfer from Cytochrome a to Cytochrome a3 of Cytochrome Oxidase" J. Biol. Chem. 261, 14461-14466 (1986).
Turrens, J., Bickar, D., and Lehninger, A. "Inhibitors of the mitochondrial cytochrome b-c1complex inhibit the cyanide-insensitive respiration of Trypanosoma brucei" Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 19, 259-264 (1986)

*Smith undergraduate co-author

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

back to chemistry home