Scott K Silverman

About

Professor Scott K Silverman is a distinguished faculty member at the University of Illinois, serving as Associate Head of Budget and Operations and Professor in the Department of Chemistry. He earned his B.S. degree in chemistry from UCLA in 1991 and completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at Caltech in 1997, where he worked with Dennis Dougherty focusing on physical organic chemistry and molecular neurobiology. Following his doctoral studies, he conducted postdoctoral research with Thomas Cech at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Professor Silverman joined the University of Illinois faculty in 2000, where he has since specialized in chemical biology and organic chemistry. His research centers on the innovative use of DNA as an enzyme and catalyst. The Silverman lab employs interdisciplinary techniques and concepts from chemical biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology to identify, characterize, and apply DNA catalysts. This research has broad implications for understanding catalytic DNA and developing new biochemical tools. The lab also offers numerous projects suitable for undergraduate research students, reflecting a commitment to education and mentorship. Throughout his career, Professor Silverman has been recognized with several prestigious honors, including being named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has also received the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry from the…

Research topics

• Biology
• Genetics
• Neuroscience
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Computational biology
• Stereochemistry

Selected publications

• Site-specific N-alkylation of DNA oligonucleotide nucleobases by DNAzyme-catalyzed reductive amination

  Nucleic Acids Research · 2024-07-25 · 22 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  DNA and RNA nucleobase modifications are biologically relevant and valuable in fundamental biochemical and biophysical investigations of nucleic acids. However, directly introducing site-specific nucleobase modifications into long unprotected oligonucleotides is a substantial challenge. In this study, we used in vitro selection to identify DNAzymes that site-specifically N-alkylate the exocyclic nucleobase amines of particular cytidine, guanosine, and adenosine (C, G and A) nucleotides in DNA su…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• DNAzyme‐Catalyzed Site‐Specific N‐Acylation of DNA Oligonucleotide Nucleobases

  Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 2023-12-29 · 16 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  We used in vitro selection to identify DNAzymes that acylate the exocyclic nucleobase amines of cytidine, guanosine, and adenosine in DNA oligonucleotides. The acyl donor was the 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenyl ester (TFPE) of a 5'-carboxyl oligonucleotide. Yields are as high as >95 % in 6 h. Several of the N-acylation DNAzymes are catalytically active with RNA rather than DNA oligonucleotide substrates, and eight of nine DNAzymes for modifying C are site-specific (>95 %) for one particular substrate…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Epigenetic MRI: Noninvasive imaging of DNA methylation in the brain

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2022 · 10 citations

  C-labeling of brain DNA. We also discovered strong regional differences in global DNA methylation. Just as functional MRI measurements of regional neuronal activity have had a transformational effect on neuroscience, we expect that the eMRI signal, both as a measure of regional epigenetic activity and as a possible surrogate for regional gene expression, will enable many new investigations of human brain function, behavior, and disease.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• DNAzymes for amine and peptide lysine acylation

  Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry · 2020 · 10 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  DNAzymes were previously identified by in vitro selection for a variety of chemical reactions, including several biologically relevant peptide modifications. However, finding DNAzymes for peptide lysine acylation is a substantial challenge. By using suitably reactive aryl ester acyl donors as the electrophiles, here we used in vitro selection to identify DNAzymes that acylate amines, including lysine side chains of DNA-anchored peptides. Some of the DNAzymes can transfer a small glutaryl group t…

  DOI

• Defining the substrate scope of DNAzyme catalysis for reductive amination with aliphatic amines

  Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry · 2023-01-01 · 5 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  -acylation are feasible for DNAzymes with DNA-anchored peptides, our findings show that the ability to identify DNAzymes depends strongly on both the investigated reaction and the composition of the substrate.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• DNAzymes for Site-Specific DNA and RNA Nucleobase Modification

  NIH · $873k · 2023–2027

• Development of DNA Catalysts for Synthetic Chemistry

  NSF · $456k · 2009–2013

• Deoxyribozymes for Protein Phosphorylation and Dephosphorylation

  NIH · $4.2M · 2003–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Mark Taylor

  Swinburne University of Technology

  1681 shared

• Tom Cozens

  Cambridge Consultants (United Kingdom)

  1681 shared

• Ryan Kean

  Glasgow Caledonian University

  1681 shared

• Jack Washington

  Cambridge Consultants (United Kingdom)

  1681 shared

• Jay S. Siegel

  1681 shared

• Sarah Anthony

  Royal Society of Chemistry

  1681 shared

• Katrina A. Jolliffe

  University of Sydney

  1681 shared

• M. Carmen Galán

  University of Bristol

  1681 shared

Education

• Postdoc, Chemistry

  University of Colorado Boulder

  2000

• Ph.D., Chemistry

  California Institute of Technology

  1997

• B.S., Chemistry

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1991

Awards & honors

• Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (2012)
• UIUC Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Re…
• LAS Professorial Scholar Award, College of Liberal Arts and…
• Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, American Chemical S…
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science…

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