STANFORD WELCOMES DR. LEAH BUSHIN AS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY

The Department of Chemistry at Stanford University warmly welcomes our newest faculty member, Dr. Leah Bushin, to the department as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. Her appointment commenced on Monday, September 1. 

Dr. Bushin, a highly accomplished chemical biologist and natural products chemist, works at the interface of primary and secondary metabolism and leverages these insights to discover and produce novel natural products. “Dr. Bushin brings a wealth of knowledge in chemical and molecular biology, biochemistry, and chemical synthesis, and we are delighted that she has chosen to join us and wish her and her lab great success,” said Department Chair, Professor Justin Du Bois.

A Distinguished Academic Background

Dr. Bushin was most recently a NIH Ruth Kirschstein-NRSA postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Bradley Moore at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) at UC San Diego. At SIO, her research focused on discovering and engineering nature’s specialized chemistry, and she worked on projects at the interface of marine natural product biosynthesis and synthetic biology - in particular, applying new strategies in metabolic engineering to overcome limitations in microbial bioproduction of heterologous compounds. Prior to her position in the Moore lab, Dr. Bushin completed her graduate studies in the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University, working in the lab of Professor Mo Seyedsayamdost. Her graduate work focused on the discovery and structural elucidation of ribosomally synthesized post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) containing unusual chemical modifications installed by radical SAM tailoring enzymes.

The Bushin Research Group

The Bushin research group will investigate novel metabolic pathways, enzymes, and bioactive molecules across all kingdoms of life, intending to repurpose them to address challenges in human health and environmental sustainability. Current efforts will primarily center on developing strategies for the efficient microbial production of compounds and materials at scale, as well as high-throughput approaches for engineering enzymes to perform synthetic reactions. More broadly, as the group designs and refines bioproduction platforms, they hope to deepen their fundamental understanding of cellular metabolism. With genome sequencing revealing an immense reservoir of untapped biosynthetic potential, their work aims to uncover and harness nature’s chemical diversity for drug discovery and synthetic derivatization.

Reflections and Defining Moments

Dr. Bushin was initially drawn to this area of chemistry as an undergraduate student when she learned that many of our important medicines are derived from nature. The discovery of penicillin from mold is one such example that changed the course of human history. According to Bushin, “I further became fascinated by the pathways and enzymes that construct these molecules, called natural products or secondary metabolites. As I spent more time in this field, I grew increasingly curious about how these pathways fit into the broader metabolism of the cell and intersect with essential pathways. In my group, we will address problems at multiple levels—dissecting the mechanism of a single enzyme while also considering questions such as how resources are balanced within the cellular system.”

When reflecting on her PhD and postdoctoral training, Bushin shares, “the moments that stand out most are the days of key experiments. During my postdoc, I spent over a year preparing all the elements to carry out the critical experiment for my project – the one that would truly test our hypothesis. When I finally set up the experiment and came in the next morning to check the results, it had worked. It was an exhilarating feeling. These special moments of true discovery, though infrequent, fuel my passion for what I do and keep me motivated to come to the lab every day and chip away at my research goals.”

Another important part of her postdoctoral training was stepping out of her comfort zone to join an oceanography institute instead of a traditional chemistry department. The shift broadened her perspective, pushed her to frame new kinds of scientific questions, and taught her how to collaborate across disciplines. She discovered that integrating expertise from different fields sparks creative approaches and enables transformative research.

Joining the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University

Dr. Bushin is thrilled to be joining a world-class faculty at the Department of Chemistry and is looking forward to working with graduate students to build and evolve her research program.

She was drawn to the department by its exceptional faculty and students, outstanding facilities, commitment to interdisciplinary research, and strong support for early-career faculty.

She looks forward to seeing students drive and shape their own projects. Throughout her career, her work has often taken unexpected yet exciting directions, and she expects the same here—propelled by Stanford’s ethos of collaboration. The Bushin group has initial experiments mapped out, but from there, they plan to follow where the science leads, embracing the excitement of ‘the unknown.’

Selected Publications

Bushin, L. B.; Alter, T. B.; Alván-Vargas, M. V. G.; Dürr, L.; Olson, E. C.; Avila, M. J.; Volke, D. C.; Puiggené, O.; Kim, T.; Deravi, L. F.; Feist, A. M.; Nikel, P. I.; Moore, B. S. Growth-Coupled Microbial Biosynthesis of the Animal Pigment Xanthommatin. Nat. Biotechnol. In Press.

Bushin, L. B.; Covington, B. C.; Clark, K. A.; Caruso, A.; Seyedsayamdost, M. R. Bicyclostreptins Are Radical SAM Enzyme-Modified Peptides with Unique Cyclization Motifs. Nat. Chem. Biol. 2022, 18, 1135–1143.

Bushin, L. B.; Clark, K. A.; Pelczer, I.; Seyedsayamdost, M. R. Charting an Unexplored Streptococcal Biosynthetic Landscape Reveals a Unique Peptide Cyclization Motif. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 17674–17684.