Education
University of Minnesota.
University of Minnesota.
He has a bachelor’s and doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Minnesota. He studies the enzymes primase and DnaB helicase in his search for antibiotics that inhibit them. He is co-author with Marjorie Mikasen of the nonfiction book ReAction! Chemistry in the Movies.
Griep studies the proteins that synthesize deoxyribonucleic acid, namely primase and DnaB helicase.
Of these, most of his work concerns primase, the enzyme that initiates deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis during deoxyribonucleic acid replication. His goal is to discover the next generation of antibiotics by searching for inhibitors of bacterial primase.
To help him do this, he seeks to understand the structure and function of primase from many bacteria. Foreign his science outreach efforts, he studies the chemistry found in feature films and then communicates his findings to the other chemists and the public.
In recognition of this work, he was awarded a Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.