Ruma Banerjee
Vincent Massey Collegiate Professor of Biological Chemistry
Professor of Biological Chemistry
[email protected]

Available to mentor

Ruma Banerjee
Professor
  • About
  • Qualifications
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
  • About

    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)

    Qualifications
    • Lecturer
      University of Michigan Medical School, Biological Chemistry, 1991
    • Postdoctoral Fellow
      University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Biophysics, 1987
    Research Overview

    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.

    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Architecture of the human G-protein-methylmalonyl-CoA mutase nanoassembly for B12 delivery and repair.
      Mascarenhas R, Ruetz M, Gouda H, Heitman N, Yaw M, Banerjee R. Nat Commun, 2023 Jul 19; 14 (1): 4332 DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-40077-4
      PMID: 37468522
    • Journal Article
      Bivalent molecular mimicry by ADP protects metal redox state and promotes coenzyme B12 repair.
      Gouda H, Mascarenhas R, Ruetz M, Yaw M, Banerjee R. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2023 Mar 14; 120 (11): e2220677120 DOI:10.1073/pnas.2220677120
      PMID: 36888659
    • Journal Article
      A redox cycle with complex II prioritizes sulfide quinone oxidoreductase-dependent H2S oxidation.
      Kumar R, Landry AP, Guha A, Vitvitsky V, Lee HJ, Seike K, Reddy P, Lyssiotis CA, Banerjee R. J Biol Chem, 2022 Jan; 298 (1): 101435 DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101435
      PMID: 34808207
    • Journal Article
      Mobile loop dynamics in adenosyltransferase control binding and reactivity of coenzyme B12.
      Mascarenhas R, Ruetz M, McDevitt L, Koutmos M, Banerjee R. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2020 Dec 1; 117 (48): 30412 - 30422. DOI:10.1073/pnas.2007332117
      PMID: 33199623
    • Journal Article
      An Interprotein Co-S Coordination Complex in the B12-Trafficking Pathway.
      Li Z, Mascarenhas R, Twahir UT, Kallon A, Deb A, Yaw M, Penner-Hahn J, Koutmos M, Warncke K, Banerjee R. J Am Chem Soc, 2020 Sep 23; 142 (38): 16334 - 16345. DOI:10.1021/jacs.0c06590
      PMID: 32871076
    • Journal Article
      Itaconyl-CoA forms a stable biradical in methylmalonyl-CoA mutase and derails its activity and repair.
      Ruetz M, Campanello GC, Purchal M, Shen H, McDevitt L, Gouda H, Wakabayashi S, Zhu J, Rubin EJ, Warncke K, Mootha VK, Koutmos M, Banerjee R. Science, 2019 Nov 1; 366 (6465): 589 - 593. DOI:10.1126/science.aay0934
      PMID: 31672889
    • Journal Article
      Allosteric Regulation of Oligomerization by a B12 Trafficking G-Protein Is Corrupted in Methylmalonic Aciduria.
      Ruetz M, Campanello GC, McDevitt L, Yokom AL, Yadav PK, Watkins D, Rosenblatt DS, Ohi MD, Southworth DR, Banerjee R. Cell Chem Biol, 2019 Jul 18; 26 (7): 960 - 969.e4. DOI:10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.03.014
      PMID: 31056463
    • Journal Article
      A Catalytic Trisulfide in Human Sulfide Quinone Oxidoreductase Catalyzes Coenzyme A Persulfide Synthesis and Inhibits Butyrate Oxidation.
      Landry AP, Moon S, Kim H, Yadav PK, Guha A, Cho U-S, Banerjee R. Cell Chem Biol, 2019 Nov 21; 26 (11): 1515 - 1525.e4. DOI:10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.09.010
      PMID: 31591036
    Featured News & Stories
    Department News
    Banerjee lab publishes papers in Nature Communications and Inorganic Chemistry
    The Banerjee lab published papers in the journals Nature Communications and Inorganic Chemistry.
    Department News
    Banerjee lab publishes research article in PNAS
    Banerjee lab publishes a research article in PNAS
    Department News
    Ruma Banerjee, PhD, elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
    Ruma Banerjee, PhD, elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences