Debbie Crans, PhD

Dr. Crans is a Professor of Organic, Inorganic and Biological Chemistry and of Cell and Molecular Biology at Colorado State University where she has served as Professor Laureate of the College of Natural Sciences. Her work focuses on technologies with applications in diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.

Dr. Cran’s research interest is in the fundamental chemistry and biochemistry of drugs with particular interest in vanadium and other transition metal ions as metals in medicine and their mechanisms of toxicity. Her group has successfully synthesized new compounds, characterized them, and tested their biological properties. Work has focused on lipid systems and micro-emulsion environments to help better understand how drugs and metabolites interact and penetrate lipid interfaces. Additional projects have begun to look at the menaquinone metabolism and inhibition of electron transport in tuberculosis bacteria as well as characterization of amyloid interactions with metal ions and their aggregation leading to a better understanding of new and existing drugs.

Dr. Crans has been involved in several technologies that have been both patented and licensed. Her expertise is in fundamental and applicational chemistry involving medicinal drug development, their mode of actions with proteins, lipids, and membranes in addition to metal chemistry in biological contexts.