Lawrence Wackett

Affiliation

University of Minnesota

Track

Biography

Lawrence Wackett is the Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics at the University of Minnesota. He obtained his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin and did a postdoc in the Chemistry Department at MIT. He specializes in discovering and characterizing new microbial enzymes. The enzymes have been applied in the synthesis of beta-lactone cancer and weight loss drugs, the development of rapid sensors, and for bioremediation. He has helped commercialize processes for the bioremediation of herbicides in soil and a disinfection byproduct in water. He has published over 300 articles and contributed 20 patents. He co-authored the textbook Biocatalysis and Biodegradation published in English by ASM Press and in Chinese by Chemical Industry Press in Beijing.