World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

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Chemistry

D-Index
69
Citations
17663
World Ranking
6167
National Ranking
1876

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
69
Citations
17401
World Ranking
7373
National Ranking
3372

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2003 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 1982 - Fellow of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Overview

Craig A. Townsend is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University in the United States. Their research spans fields including Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, and Medicine, with significant contributions in subfields such as Molecular Biology, Pharmacology, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Organic Chemistry, and Epidemiology.

The scientist's work extensively covers topics related to Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis, Chemical Synthesis and Analysis, Metalloenzymes and iron-sulfur proteins, Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria, Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology, CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts, and RNA modifications and cancer.

Craig A. Townsend has contributed to several recent publications, among them:

  • "Structure of a B12-dependent radical SAM enzyme in carbapenem biosynthesis" (2022, Nature)
  • "Evolutionary and functional analysis of an NRPS condensation domain integrates β-lactam, ᴅ-amino acid, and dehydroamino acid synthesis" (2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
  • "Penicillin Binding Proteins and β-Lactamases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Reexamination of the Historical Paradigm" (2022, mSphere)
  • "Evolution of Methods for the Study of Cobalamin-Dependent Radical SAM Enzymes" (2021, ACS Bio & Med Chem Au)
  • "Development of a penem antibiotic against Mycobacteroides abscessus" (2020, Communications Biology)

The scientist frequently publishes in venues such as ACS Chemical Biology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of the American Chemical Society, ChemBioChem, and iScience.

Collaborations include frequent coauthors:

  • Michael S. Lichstrahl
  • Rongfeng Li
  • Erica K. Sinner
  • Lukas Kahlert
  • Trevor A. Zandi

Craig A. Townsend has been recognized with fellowships from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2003 and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 1982.

Best Publications

  • Reduced Food Intake and Body Weight in Mice Treated with Fatty Acid Synthase Inhibitors

    Thomas M. Loftus;Donna E. Jaworsky;Gojeb L. Frehywot;Craig A. Townsend

  • Predictive, structure-based model of amino acid recognition by nonribosomal peptide synthetase adenylation domains.

    Gregory L Challis;Jacques Ravel;Craig A Townsend

  • Synthesis and antitumor activity of an inhibitor of fatty acid synthase

    Francis P. Kuhajda;Ellen S. Pizer;Ji Nong Li;Neelakandha S. Mani

  • Malonyl-Coenzyme-A Is a Potential Mediator of Cytotoxicity Induced by Fatty-Acid Synthase Inhibition in Human Breast Cancer Cells and Xenografts

    Ellen S. Pizer;Jagan Thupari;Wan Fang Han;Michael L. Pinn

  • Enzymology and Molecular Biology of Aflatoxin Biosynthesis.

    Robert E. Minto;Craig A. Townsend

  • Fatty acid synthase inhibition triggers apoptosis during S phase in human cancer cells.

    Weibo Zhou;P. Jeanette Simpson;Jill M. McFadden;Craig A. Townsend

  • Deconstruction of iterative multidomain polyketide synthase function.

    Jason M. Crawford;Paul M. Thomas;Jonathan R. Scheerer;Anna L. Vagstad

  • New insights into the formation of fungal aromatic polyketides

    Jason M. Crawford;Craig A. Townsend

  • Identification of a starter unit acyl-carrier protein transacylase domain in an iterative type I polyketide synthase

    Jason M. Crawford;Blair C. R. Dancy;Eric A. Hill;Daniel W. Udwary

  • Structural basis for biosynthetic programming of fungal aromatic polyketide cyclization.

    Jason M. Crawford;Tyler P. Korman;Jason W. Labonte;Anna L. Vagstad

  • An externally tunable bacterial band-pass filter

    Takayuki Sohka;Richard A. Heins;Ryan M. Phelan;Jennifer M. Greisler

  • Spectroscopic Studies of Substrate Interactions with Clavaminate Synthase 2, a Multifunctional α-KG-Dependent Non-Heme Iron Enzyme: Correlation with Mechanisms and Reactivities

    Jing Zhou;Wendy L. Kelly;Brian O. Bachmann;Michele Gunsior

  • The architectures of iterative type I PKS and FAS.

    Dominik A. Herbst;Craig A. Townsend;Timm Maier

  • Fatty Acid Synthase Inhibition Activates AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in SKOV3 Human Ovarian Cancer Cells

    Weibo Zhou;Wan Fang Han;Leslie E. Landree;Jagan N. Thupari

  • Circular Dichroism and Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopic Studies of the Non-Heme Ferrous Active Site in Clavaminate Synthase and Its Interaction with α-Ketoglutarate Cosubstrate

    Elizabeth G. Pavel;Jing Zhou;Robert W. Busby;Michele Gunsior

  • Intrinsic evolutionary constraints on protease structure, enzyme acylation, and the identity of the catalytic triad.

    Andrew R. Buller;Craig A. Townsend

  • Purification and characterization of clavaminate synthase from Streptomyces clavuligerus: an unusual oxidative enzyme in natural product biosynthesis.

    S P Salowe;E N Marsh;C A Townsend

  • Expression of FAS within hypothalamic neurons: a model for decreased food intake after C75 treatment.

    Eun Kyoung Kim;Ian Miller;Leslie E. Landree;Felice F. Borisy-Rudin

  • A new class of antituberculosis agents.

    Paul B. Jones;Nikki M. Parrish;Todd Ashley Houston;Anthony Stapon

  • Specific abstraction of the 5'S- and 4'-deoxyribosyl hydrogen atoms from DNA by calicheamicin .gamma.1I

    Jon J. Hangeland;James J. De Voss;Julie A. Heath;Craig A. Townsend

  • Rational strain improvement for enhanced clavulanic acid production by genetic engineering of the glycolytic pathway in Streptomyces clavuligerus

    Rongfeng Li;Craig A. Townsend

Frequent Co-Authors

Jacques Ravel
Jacques Ravel University of Maryland, Baltimore
Kenneth C. Ehrlich
Kenneth C. Ehrlich US Department of Agriculture
Timothy H. Moran
Timothy H. Moran Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Michael D. Burkart
Michael D. Burkart University of California, San Diego
Amy C. Rosenzweig
Amy C. Rosenzweig Northwestern University
Gregory L. Challis
Gregory L. Challis University of Warwick
Edward I. Solomon
Edward I. Solomon Stanford University
Neil L. Kelleher
Neil L. Kelleher Northwestern University
Joan W. Bennett
Joan W. Bennett Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Yves Van de Peer
Yves Van de Peer Ghent University

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