Vinny Menon

Current Research Interests:

Our group created a novel class of peptide-based antibiotics called Cationic Amphiphilic Polyproline Helices (CAPHs) that showed remarkable cell penetrating and  antibacterial capabilities against intracellular pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These CAPHs have since been conjugated to known antibiotics, such as kanamycin, via a cleavable tether in order to imbue these therapeutics with a dual mode of action against bacteria. Using techniques such as MALDI-TOF, LC/MS, cell culture, organic/peptide synthesis and enzyme kinetics assays we are seeking to determine the intracellular target(s) of these conjugate antibiotics and better understand their interaction.