Scholars@Duke
Kathryn Haas

Kathryn Haas

Associate Professor of the Practice of Chemistry
Chemistry
Box 90346, Durham, NC 27708-0346
1224 French Science Center, 124 Science Drive Box 90346, Durham, NC 27708
Office hours

Featured Works

Cu(I) and Cu(II) binding by hyperactive variants of the human CTR1 N-terminus: Insights from cellular and model peptide studies.

Journal article Journal of inorganic biochemistry · September 2026 Featured Publication Copper (Cu) trafficking requires precise control of Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox chemistry to enable cellular acquisition while preventing toxicity. Human Cu transporter 1 protein (hCTR1) mediates cellular Cu uptake, yet key molecular details governing its extracell ... Full text Open Access Cite

Exploration of the Potential Role for Aβ in Delivery of Extracellular Copper to Ctr1.

Journal article Inorganic chemistry · December 2020 Featured Publication Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides are notorious for their involvement in Alzheimer's disease (AD), by virtue of their propensity to aggregate to form oligomers, fibrils, and eventually plaques in the brain. Nevertheless, they appear to be essential for correct ne ... Full text Cite

Using N-Terminal Coordination of Cu(II) and Ni(II) to Isolate the Coordination Environment of Cu(I) and Cu(II) Bound to His13 and His14 in Amyloid-β(4-16).

Journal article Inorganic chemistry · November 2019 Featured Publication The amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide is a cleavage product of the amyloid precursor protein and has been implicated as a central player in Alzheimer's disease. The N-terminal end of Aβ is variable, and different proportions of these variable-length Aβ peptides are p ... Full text Cite

The N-terminal 14-mer model peptide of human Ctr1 can collect Cu(ii) from albumin. Implications for copper uptake by Ctr1.

Journal article Metallomics : integrated biometal science · December 2018 Featured Publication Human cells acquire copper primarily via the copper transporter 1 protein, hCtr1. We demonstrate that at extracellular pH 7.4 CuII is bound to the model peptide hCtr11-14via an ATCUN motif and such complexes are strong enough to collect CuII from albumin, ... Full text Cite

Collaborating with Undergraduates To Contribute to Biochemistry Community Resources.

Journal article Biochemistry · January 2018 Featured Publication Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have gained traction as effective ways to expand the impact of undergraduate research while fulfilling pedagogical goals. In this Perspective, we present innovative ways to incorporate fundamental ben ... Full text Cite

Structure and Affinity of Cu(I) Bound to Human Serum Albumin.

Journal article Inorganic chemistry · December 2017 Featured Publication Human serum albumin (HSA) is a major Cu carrier in human blood and in cerebrospinal fluid. A major assumption is that Cu bound to HSA is in the Cu(II) oxidation state; thus, interactions between HSA and Cu(II) have been intensely investigated for over four ... Full text Cite

Model Peptide Studies Reveal a Mixed Histidine-Methionine Cu(I) Binding Site at the N-Terminus of Human Copper Transporter 1.

Journal article Inorganic chemistry · September 2015 Featured Publication Copper is a vital metal cofactor in enzymes that are essential to myriad biological processes. Cellular acquisition of copper is primarily accomplished through the Ctr family of plasma membrane copper transport proteins. Model peptide studies indicate that ... Full text Cite