Home » Melody Malek

Melody Malek

Melody Malek

Education:

B.S. Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, 2019

From: Milpitas, California

Joined David Lab: January 2021

Outside of lab: I enjoy reading, watching tv, and cooking

Research in David Lab:

DNA is prone to oxidative damage by both exogenous and endogenous sources. DNA damage must be repaired to maintain genomic integrity, and the base excision repair (BER) pathway has evolved to recognize and initiate repair caused by oxidative damage. My projects involve the glycosylases hOGG1 and NEIL 1, 2, and 3. My work with hOGG1 involves synthetic organic chemistry to synthesize potent and specific nucleic acid based inhibitors of the enzyme. It has been previously demonstrated by our lab that certain transition state analogue mimics tightly bind hOGG1’s active site, but it has yet to be demonstrated that these analogues can inhibit the enzyme in a cellular context, which is what my work focuses on. My second project (involving NEILs 1, 2, and 3) involves understanding whether repair of oxidative damage by the NEILs is affected by oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide and potassium bromate in a cellular context.

Previous Research Experience:

As an undergrad, I worked in Dr. James Nowick’s lab for 2.5 years. My first project involved synthesizing fluorescent mimics of the amyloid beta peptide, the aggregation of which has been linked to the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. My second project involved synthesizing fluorescent mimics of the peptidic antibiotic teixobactin, which shows no detectable resistance. This work led to a publication that details the mechanism by which teixobactin is able to localize to the lipid bilayer of gram-positive bacteria.

RSS Science Daily News

  • New Orleans is sinking—and so are its $15 billion flood defenses June 29, 2025
    Parts of New Orleans are sinking at alarming rates — including some of the very floodwalls built to protect it. A new satellite-based study finds that some areas are losing nearly two inches of elevation per year, threatening the effectiveness of the city's storm defenses.
  • Record-breaking 10-billion-year radio halo just rewrote the universe’s origin story June 28, 2025
    A newly discovered radio halo, 10 billion light-years away, reveals that galaxy clusters in the early universe were already steeped in high-energy particles. The finding hints at ancient black hole activity or cosmic particle collisions fueling this energy.
  • A mysterious mineral in asteroid Ryugu may rewrite planetary history June 28, 2025
    A surprising discovery from a tiny grain of asteroid Ryugu has rocked scientists' understanding of how our Solar System evolved. Researchers found djerfisherite—a mineral typically born in scorching, chemically reduced conditions and never before seen in Ryugu-like meteorites—inside a sample returned by Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission. Its presence suggests either Ryugu once experienced unexpectedly high temperatures […]
  • A giant pulse beneath Africa could split the continent — and form an ocean June 27, 2025
    Beneath the Afar region in Ethiopia, scientists have discovered pulsing waves of molten rock rising from deep within the Earth — a geological heartbeat that could eventually split Africa in two. These rhythmic surges of mantle material are helping to stretch and thin the continent’s crust, setting the stage for a new ocean to form […]
  • World’s largest camera just snapped the Universe in 3,200 megapixels June 27, 2025
    The LSST camera at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has released its jaw-dropping first images, each capturing 45 times the area of the full moon in one shot. Over the next ten years, this cosmic giant will scan the southern sky in ultra-HD, helping scientists uncover everything from asteroids to the secrets of dark energy.

Contact:

Dr. Sheila S. David
ssdavid@ucdavis.edu
(530)-752-4280

Department of Chemistry
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616