Shaun Black Ph.D.

Dr. Black conducts chemical and biochemical research in four areas, each aimed at discovery. The first concerns the Power of Observation; observation begins and runs at the heart of the Scientific Method. Our efforts in this area concern the development and testing of chemistry toys which are safe, fun, and interesting to observe; the power of observation can be determined from the toy observed by a person, and repeated use of ChemToy1 or ChemToy2 can strengthen the person’s observational power. The second concerns Chemical Planomics; we have discovered “planomics”, or the macroscopic movement of molecules under their own power. We first observed this for copper(II)sulfate (CuSO4•5H2O), but, since, have seen this effect operate in a wide variety of salts, such as (NH4)2SO4, KH2PO4, Na2HPO4, and NaCl. Planomics occurs as a fractal phenomenon (D=1.85) in “equilibrium” with crystals; as well, planomics also exists as a continuum with chemical displacement (redox chemistry). Chemical Planomics may the driving force for cave formation, mineralization, and other processes. The third area is Physiological Transport of Molecular Oxygen; current theory suggests that oxygen diffuses from the lungs into the blood and from the blood into a target tissue. However, oxygen (O2) is non-polar and, thus, is not soluble in cells or the blood and cannot pass across membranes; accordingly, most of the current theory of oxygen transport is untenable. In contrast, we have found from our empirical data as well as quantum mechanical calculations that oxygen exists in equilibrium with oligomeric forms (O4, O6, O8) and also exists as a dipolar species (e.g. +O-O-) which is quite polar. Thus, we now hypothesize that oligomerization and dipolarization are the bases of the correct mechanism for physiological oxygen transport. The forth area is the Allosteric Corridor; this is the term we have coined for the group of enzymes that serve as the highly-regulated biochemical engine of all aerobic cells. We discovered this from an inductive approach with allosteric enzymes and metabolic reactions with high free energy (DG). Current experiments are aimed at mathematical modeling of mammalian metabolism with the Allosteric Corridor as the proper framework. Undergraduate research students have participated in all aspects of each project under study in Dr. Black’s laboratory. Each student has or will be a co-author on talks, posters, and papers published.

Students typically begin their work with Dr. Black as freshmen or sophomores. This permits sufficient time to study their problem, gain technical expertise, plan and carry out successful experiments, present work at meetings, and publish their findings.

Selected Talks, Abstracts, and Publications

• Black, S.D. A Unified Theory of Functional Cellular Metabolism based upon the Allosteric Corridor. (2019) (submitted)
• Terra, M., Black, S.D. Chemistry Toy 1: An Approach to Quantify and Improve the Power of Scientific Observation. (2019) J. Chem. Educ. (DOI: doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00480)
• Sturrock, G.N, Black, S.D. Chemical Planomics: A New Phenomenon. (2019) abstract and poster at the East Texas Research Conference 5/9-10/2019.
• Mammen, J.G., Black S.D. Chemical Planomics of Sodium Phosphate. (2019) abstract and poster at the East Texas Research Conference 5/9-10/2019.
• Smith, N.M., Black, S.D. How does Molecular Oxygen Support Mammalian Cellular Respiration? (2019) abstract and poster at the East Texas Research Conference 5/9-10/2019.
• Gowda, K., Clemons, W.M., Jr., Zwieb C., Black S.D. Expression, Purification, and Crystallography of the Conserved Methionine-rich Domain of Human Signal Recognition Particle 54 kDa Protein. (1999) Protein Sci. 8(5), 1144-1151. (DOI: doi.org/10.1110/ps.8.5.1144).
• Black, S.D., Freck, L.C., Galbraith, J.A., Linger, M.H. Affinity Isolation and Characterization of Cytochrome P450 102 (BM-3) from Barbiturate Induced Black, S.D., Mould, D.R. Development of Hydrophobicity Parameters to analyze Proteins which Bear Post- or Co-Translation Modifications. (1991) Anal. Biochem. 193, 72-82. (DOI: doi.org/10.1016/0003-2697(91)90045-U)
• Tarr, G.E., Black, S.D., Fujita, V.S., Coon, M.J. Complete Amino Acid Sequence and Predicted Membrane Topology of Phenobarbital Induced Rabbit Liver Microsomal Cytochrome P 450 (Isozyme 2). (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80, 6552-6556. (PMCID: PMC390391 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC390391/)
• Black, S.D., Tarr, G.E., Coon, M.J. Structural Features of Isozyme 2 of Liver Microsomal Cytochrome P 450: Identification of a Highly Conserved Cysteine Containing Peptide.  (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 14616-14619. (PM www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7174657)
• Black, S.D., Coon, M.J. Structural Features of Liver Microsomal NADPH Cytochrome P 450 Reductase:  Hydrophobic Domain, Hydrophilic Domain, and Connecting Region. (1982)  J. Biol. Chem. 257, 5929-5938. (PM: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6802823)

Positions and Honors

2019    University of Texas at Tyler, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Award for Excellence in Research

2019    University of Texas at Tyler, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Award for Excellence in Collegiality

2016    Founding Member, the University of Texas at Tyler, Academy of Distinguished Teachers

2013    Member of the American Chemical Association, Division of Chemical Education

2012    Reagents’ of the University of Texas Outstanding Teaching Award

1995    Who's Who in the World

1987    Outstanding Young Men of America

1972    Westinghouse National Science Talent Search, Honors Group