David Sherman Lab

We harness the power of chemistry that has evolved inside of microorganisms to pioneer new antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs and other medicines.

Our Research

Composed of a dynamic, interdisciplinary team of scientists, the Sherman laboratory studies the biosynthesis of natural products from microbes that include cyanobacteria, actinomycetes, and myxobacteria. We are inspired by natural products from both terrestrial and marine organisms and seek to better understand their origins using a set of tools that includes molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, and bioorganic chemistry.

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David Sherman, Ph.D.

Research Professor, U-M Life Sciences Institute
Hans W. Vahlteich Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, U-M College of Pharmacy
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, U-M Medical School
Professor of Chemistry, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
(734) 764-0030
davidhs@umich.edu
Full Profile
Research
Lab Members
Publications

News

Diving into science diplomacy

Graduate student Amy Fraley recently joined faculty member David Sherman on his latest expedition in Cuba, where strict barriers have prevented access for nearly 60 years.

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Publication Highlights

Recent advances in hapalindole-type cyanobacterial alkaloids: biosynthesis, synthesis, and biological activity

Hohlman RM, Sherman DH, Nat Prod Rep (2021)

Ribosome-binding and anti-microbial studies of the mycinamicins, 16-membered macrolide antibiotics from Micromonospora griseorubida

Breiner-Goldstein E, Eyal Z, Matzov D, Halfon Y, Cimicata G, Baum M, Rokney A, Ezernitchi AV, Lowell AN, Schmidt JJ, Rozenberg H, Zimmerman E, Bashan A, Valinsky L, Anzai Y, Sherman DH, Yonath A, Nucleic Acids Res (2021)

Engineering sequence and selectivity of late-stage C-H oxidation in the MycG iterative cytochrome P450

Iizaka Y, Arai R, Takahashi A, Ito M, Sakai M, Fukumoto A, Sherman DH, Anzai Y, J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol (2021)

Biosynthetic cyclization catalysts for the assembly of peptide and polyketide natural products

Adrover-Castellano ML, Schmidt JJ, Sherman DH, ChemCatChem (2021)

Structural diversification of hapalindole and fischerindole natural products via cascade biocatalysis

Hohlman RM, Newmister SA, Sanders JN, Khatri Y, Li S, Keramati NR, Lowell AN, Houk KN, Sherman DH, ACS Catal (2021)

Computationally-guided exchange of substrate selectivity motifs in a modular polyketide synthase acyltransferase

Kalkreuter E, Bingham KS, Keeler AM, Lowell AN, Schmidt JJ, Sherman DH, Williams GJ, Nat Commun (2021)

An overview of the cytochrome P450 enzymes that catalyze the same-site multistep oxidation reactions in biotechnologically relevant selected actinomycete strains

Iizaka Y, Sherman DH, Anzai Y, Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2021)

Multi-component microscale biosynthesis of unnatural cyanobacterial indole alkaloids

Khatri Y, Hohlman RM, Mendoza J, Li S, Lowell AN, Asahara H, Sherman DH, ACS Syn Biol (2020)

Control of stereoselectivity in diverse hapalindole metabolites is mediated by cofactor induced combinatorial pairing of Stig cyclases

Li S, Newmister SA, Lowell AN,  Zi J, Chappell CR, Yu F, Hohlman RM, Orjala J, Williams RM, Sherman DH, Angew Chem Int Ed (2020)

Molecular basis for spirooxindole formation in the paraherquamide biosynthetic pathway.

Fraley AE, Haatveit K, Ye Y, Kelly SP, Yu Y, Williams RM, Smith JL, Houk KN, Sherman DH, J Amer Chem Soc (2020)

View All Publications on PubMed

Quick Links

Natural Products Discovery Core
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Contact Us

Adminstrative Assistant Sandra Crump
(734) 764-0520
Life Sciences Institute
Mary Sue Coleman Hall
210 Washtenaw Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2216
crumps@umich.edu

Diving for Discovery

Pharmaceutical Discovery from Cyanobacteria at the U-M Biological Station