Rafael VICUÑA
Ph.D. Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Dr. Vicuña is a distinguished
Chilean biochemist with doctoral studies at the Albert Einstein
College of medicine in New York. His present research
interests is centered on the study of the biochemistry,
and molecular genetics of microorganisms that degrade lignin.
He has made important contributions in the field of nucleic
acids biochemistry, and to the purification and characterization
of DNA polymerases from T. thermophilus, an enzyme
widely used today in PCR. In the field of microbial degradation
of lignin his main accomplishments are the isolation, identification
and characterization of natural bacterial strains able to
metabolize lignin model compounds; the elucidation of metabolic
pathways involving novel catabolic intermediates and the
discovery of new enzymes. Dr. Vicuña was Vice President
of the Science and Technology Committee of the President's
Council of Chilean Universities, Member of the National
Committee on Biotechnology, Advisor in science policies
to the Dominican Republic, and President of the Biotechnology
Committee of the European Community-Chile Business Foundationamong
other nominations. Dr. Vicuña has been recently appointed
to the Chilean Academy of Sciences and is Member of the
Vatican Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
ACADEMIC
POSITIONS:
Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Visiting
Scientist Forest Product Laboratory (Madisson, USA).
PUBLICATIONS: 66 publications in mainstream journals.
SELECTED
PUBLICATIONS
Urzúa, U., Kersten, P., Vicuña,
R. (1998). Manganese peroxidase-dependent oxidation
of glyoxylic and oxalic acids synthesized by Ceriporiopsis
subvermispora produces extracellular hydrogen peroxide.
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64,
68-73.
Lobos, S., Larrondo, L., Salas,
L., Karahanian, E., Vicuña,
R. (1998). Cloning and molecular analysis of a cDNA
and the Cs-mnp1 gene encoding a manganese peroxidase
isoenzyme from the lignin-degrading basidiomycete Ceriporiopsis
subvermispora. Gene 206, 185-193.
Urzúa, U., Kersten, P., Vicuña,
R. (1998). Kinetics of Mn-oxalate in reactions catalyzed
by manganese peroxidase of Ceriporiopsis subvermispora.
Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 360, 215-222.
Karahanian, E., Corsini, G.,
Lobos, S., Vicuña, R. (1998). Structure and expression of a laccase gene
from the ligninolytic basidiomycete Ceriporiopsis subvermispora.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1443, 65-
Bastidas, F., Urzúa, U. and
VICUÑA R. (2002). “Oxidation of Kojic Acid Catalyzed by Manganese
Peroxidase from Ceriporiopsis subvermispora in the
absence of Hydrogen Peroxide”. Applied Biochemistry and
Biotechnology, 101:31-40.
Polanco, R., Lobos, S. and VICUÑA,
R. (2002). “Binding
of nuclear proteins to the promoter region of the lacasse
gene Cs-lcs from the basidiomycete Ceriporiopsis
subvermispora”. Enzyme and Microbial Technology. 30,
4.
VICUÑA,
R.
(2002). “The Challenges for Science. Education for the Twenty-First
Century”. The Pontificial Academy of Sciences. Scripta Varia
104: 197-208. Vatican City.
