Biography

Darla McCarthy, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the UMKC School of Medicine. She earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Colorado in 1998, where her dissertation research focused on the catalytic mechanism employed by a bacterial enzyme involved in the metabolism of pentachlorophenol, a toxic soil pollutant. Additional post-doctoral research at the University of California-Berkeley focused on elucidating catalytic features of a vitamin B6-dependent enzyme. Subsequent to her post-doctoral studies, Dr. McCarthy spent several years teaching chemistry and biochemistry at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Dr. McCarthy teaches biochemistry at the UMKC School of Medicine. Her primary teaching responsibility is the Human Biochemistry course. She also lectures in the Human Structure Function series and in the Physician Assistant program.

Selected Publications

McCarthy, D. and Folkema, A. “Reading and Writing in Chemistry: Summarizing the Past to Shape the Future.” In: E Vander Lei and D Ward, eds. Real Texts: Reading and Writing Across the Disciplines, Longman Publishers, New York, NY, 2008. (2nd Ed., 2011)

Capitani, G., McCarthy, D.L., Gut, H., Gruetter, M.G., and Kirsch, J.F. “Apple ACC Synthase in Complex with the Inhibitor L-Aminoethoxyvinylglycine: Evidence for a Ketimine Intermediate.” J. Biol. Chem. 2002 51, 49735-49742.

Kiefer, P.M., McCarthy, D.L., and Copley, S.D. “The Reaction Catalyzed by Tetrachlorohydroquinone Dehalogenase Does Not Involve Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution.” Biochemistry 2002 41, 1308-1314.

McCarthy, D.L., Capitani, G., Feng, L., Gruetter, M.G., and Kirsch, J.F. “Glutamate 47 in 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate Synthase is a Major Specificity Determinant.” Biochemistry 2001 40, 12276-12284.

McCarthy, D.L., Louie, D.F., and Copley, S.D. “Identification of a Covalent Intermediate Between Glutathione and Cysteine 13 Formed During Catalysis by Tetrachlorohydroquinone Dehalogenase.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997 119, 11337-11338.

McCarthy, D.L., Claude, A.A., and Copley, S.D. “In vivo Levels of Chlorinated Hydroquinones in a Pentachlorophenol-Degrading Bacterium.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 1997 63, 1883-1888.

McCarthy, D.L., Navarrete, S., Willett, W.S., Babbitt, P.C., and Copley, S.D. “Exploration of the Relationship Between Tetrachlorohydroquinone Dehalogenase and the Glutathione S-Transferase Superfamily.” Biochemistry 1996 35, 14634-14642.

Gray, T.M., Arnoys, E.J., Blankespoor, S., Born, T., Jager, R., Everman, R., Plowman, D.**, Stair, A., and Zhang, D. “Destabilizing Effect of Proline Substitutions in Two Helical Regions of T4 Lysozyme: Leucine 66 to Proline and Leucine 92 to Proline.” Protein Sci. 1996 5, 742-751. **Former name.