Comprehensive Natural Products II
7.11 - Coenzyme A Biosynthesis and Enzymology
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Erick Strauss was born and bred in Pretoria, South Africa, where he obtained his Bachelors in Science in Chemistry in 1997. He subsequently moved to the United States to pursue his graduate studies at Cornell University, where he worked on the biosynthesis of coenzyme A with Professor Tadhg Begley. He received a Ph.D. in chemistry and chemical biology in 2003. He returned to South Africa in the same year to accept an offer from Stellenbosch University to establish his own research group, with a focus on chemical biology, in the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science. In 2008 he moved to the Department of Biochemistry, Stellenbosch University, where currently he is an associate professor. Erick is a recipient of the President’s Award from the South African National Research Foundation, and the Rector’s Award for Excellence in Teaching from Stellenbosch University. He continues to pursue his research interests in the mechanistic aspects of CoA biosynthesis, as well as the applications of CoA analogues and precursors in inhibitor and drug design –with special emphasis on compounds that could be applied to the treatment of the so-called ‘neglected diseases,’ such as tuberculosis, malaria, and human sleeping sickness.