Frances H. Arnold Research Group

California Institute of Technology

Can enzymes be evolved to catalyze nonnatural chemical reactions with improved activity and selectivity for industrial synthesis? The laboratory develops directed-evolution strategies and simulation tools to optimize enzyme sequences for targeted catalytic functions and to create new catalysts for specific chemistries. Researchers integrate machine learning and molecular simulation to navigate protein fitness landscapes, predict beneficial mutations, and accelerate screening for improved catalytic properties. Projects apply optimized enzymes to pharmaceutical synthesis, biofuels production, and sensors and diagnostics, demonstrating practical biocatalysis across diverse chemical problems. Experimental evolution experiments and analyses probe mechanisms of natural enzyme evolution to reveal adaptive pathways, tradeoffs, and determinants of catalytic efficiency.