Ruma Banerjee

I invite you to read my reflection, Balancing on the Road Less Traveled (PMID: 30923127, PMCID: PMC6497942).

It is "a personal recollection of the metaphorical transcontinental road that I traveled to become a scientist....Factors that prepared me for my improbable journey in an era when international calls were operator-assisted and unaffordable, and the internet was the stuff of science fiction, were my family’s love and the sheltered environment of my all-girls school and college experiences, which nurtured my self-confidence. The path of scientific inquiry is heady, and it is hard. The paucity of diversity, of women and minorities, particularly as the road steepens, helps perpetuate stereotypes and inadvertently, encourages disparities. It is my hope that by sharing snippets of my journey, enriched as it has been by a diversity of mentors, mentees, colleagues and friends, and the opportunity to express my curiosity and creativity, that a young person contemplating the scientific road will find encouragement."

(Banerjee, R. J Biol Chem 2019; 294: 6685-6688. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.aw119.008136)

My research focuses on the enzymes, coenzymes and metabolic pathways that support and interact with the sulfur network in mammals. The enzymes that we study are involved in the biogenesis and oxidation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and in the assimilation, trafficking and utilization of the essential B12 cofactor. The coenzymes that we study include vitamins B2 (flavin), B6 (pyridoxal phosphate), B12 (cobalamin) and heme, which support key junction enzymes that commit the flow of sulfur to metabolic tributaries and are major hubs of regulation. The metabolic pathways that we study are connected via H2S signaling and include redox, oxygen, central carbon, nucleotide and lipid metabolism. Our contributions to science are characterized by their breadth as we integrate clinical, animal model, cellular and molecular data to tackle fundamental questions in the field. We use a combination of spectroscopic (EPR, fluorescence), kinetic (stopped-flow spectroscopy), structural (crystallography, NMR) and multi-omics (metabolomics, TMT proteomics, RNA-Seq) approaches and cellular and mouse models to understand the mechanisms of catalysis and regulation of key enzymes involved in H2S homeostasis and B12 trafficking.