University of Illinois Chicago · PharmacologyPeptide Forge Lab
Alexander S Mankin · Chicago, Illinois
Research Focus
Dr. Alexander S. Mankin's lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago focuses on understanding and enhancing antibacterial peptides produced by honeybees and fruit flies. These peptides, known for their ability to inhibit bacterial growth by stopping protein synthesis, hold potential for developing new antibiotics. The lab employs various techniques to explore how these peptides work and to create more effective derivatives.
antibacterial peptidesribosome inhibitionprotein synthesisantibiotic developmenttranslation termination
Research Aims
3AIM 01Identify improved variants of apidaecin peptides against bacterial pathogens.
AIM 02Expand the spectrum of action for Api-like peptides by bypassing required uptake mechanisms.
AIM 03Analyze the binding and mechanism of action of Drosocin-like peptides identifying crucial features of antimicrobial peptides.
Skills the Lab Values
peptide synthesisbacterial cell cultureX-ray crystallographygenomic sequencingstructure-based drug design
Output against the department
Publications243top 34% of dept.156th of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations12ktop 31% of dept.142nd of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.