Achievement

A former CREATE IGERT trainee, Lucas Arzola, now an alumni of the program is working as a post-doctoral scholar on an interdisciplinary project to produce a human blood protein in tobacco that can provide protection against exposure to organophosphorus nerve agents like sarin. The project involves five CREATE IGERT faculty trainers including molecular and cellular biologists, plant scientists, analytical chemists, enzymologists, and biochemical engineers. The team has demonstrated the ability to quickly produce functional butyrylcholinesterase in a scalable and cost-effective manner that might offer warfighters protection in the event of exposure to chemical warfare agents.