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Isaac Cann

Profile picture for Isaac Cann

Contact Information

3408 Institute for Genomic Biology
1206 West Gregory Drive
MC-195
Urbana, IL 61801

Professor of Animal Sciences
Affiliate Professor, Microbiology

Research Interests

Research Topics

Archaea, Biofuels, Enzymology, Genomics, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Molecular Evolution, Protein Structure, Protein-Nucleic Acid Interactions

Research Description

Molecular biology and biochemistry of archaeal DNA replication; host-microbiome interactions; enzymes of plant cell wall hydrolysis

The research of the Cann lab focuses on three areas:

  • DNA replication in the archaeal domain of life
  • Host-microbiome interactions and their effects on health and disease
  • Enzymes of importance to biofuel production

Isaac Cann is a member of two themes at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), and his research is carried out at the space shared by his affiliated themes [Microbiome Metabolic Engineering (MME) and Biocomplexity (BCXT)] with others at the IGB.

Education

B.Sc (Hons) Animal Sciences, University of Ghana 1986
M.S. (Rumen Microbiology), Mie University, Japan, 1991
Ph.D. (Rumen Microbiology), Mie University, Japan, 1994
Postdoctoral (Anaerobic Microbiology), Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, 1994-1997

Awards and Honors

National Science Foundation CAREER Award 2003
Fellow, Center for Advanced Study 2005
Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research Award (UIUC) 2012
Paul A. Funk Award, College of ACES 2014

Additional Campus Affiliations

Professor, Animal Sciences
Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Professor, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Affiliate, Microbiology
Professor, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies

Recent Publications

Fridman D'Alessandro, V., D'Alessandro-Gabazza, C. N., Yasuma, T., Toda, M., Takeshita, A., Tomaru, A., Tharavecharak, S., Lasisi, I. O., Hess, R. Y., Nishihama, K., Fujimoto, H., Kobayashi, T., Cann, I., & Gabazza, E. C. (2023). Inhibition of a Microbiota-Derived Peptide Ameliorates Established Acute Lung Injury. American Journal of Pathology, 193(6), 740-754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpath.2023.03.003

Nishiwaki, R., Imoto, I., Oka, S., Yasuma, T., Fujimoto, H., D’Alessandro-Gabazza, C. N., Toda, M., Kobayashi, T., Osamu, H., Fujibe, K., Nishikawa, K., Hamaguchi, T., Sugimasa, N., Noji, M., Ito, Y., Takeuchi, K., Cann, I., Inoue, Y., Kato, T., & Gabazza, E. C. (2023). Elevated plasma and bile levels of corisin, a microbiota-derived proapoptotic peptide, in patients with severe acute cholangitis. Gut Pathogens, 15(1), Article 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13099-023-00587-4

Shi, Q., Abdel-Hamid, A. M., Sun, Z., Cheng, Y., Tu, T., Cann, I., Yao, B., & Zhu, W. (2023). Carbohydrate-binding modules facilitate the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass: Releasing reducing sugars and dissociative lignin available for producing biofuels and chemicals. Biotechnology Advances, 65, Article 108126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108126

Abdel-Hamid, A. M., D'Alessandro-Gabazza, C. N., Yasuma, T., Walden, K. K. O., Fields, C. J., Gabazza, E. C., & Cann, I. (2022). Complete Genome Sequences of Three Staphylococcus haemolyticus Strains Isolated from the Lung of a TGFb1 Transgenic Mouse with Lung Fibrosis. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01176-21

Cerqueira, F. M., Photenhauer, A. L., Doden, H. L., Brown, A. N., Abdel-Hamid, A. M., Moraïs, S., Bayer, E. A., Wawrzak, Z., Cann, I., Ridlon, J. M., Hopkins, J. B., & Koropatkin, N. M. (2022). Sas20 is a highly flexible starch-binding protein in the Ruminococcus bromii cell-surface amylosome. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 298(5), Article 101896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101896

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