Ken Sale

Deputy Director of Microbial and Enzyme Discovery

Author profile picture

Deputy Director of Microbial and Enzyme Discovery

klsale@sandia.gov

(925) 294-2143

Sandia National Laboratories, California
 P.O. Box 969
 Livermore, CA 94551-0969

Biography

Ken Sale’s expertise is in structural and computational biology, enzymology, enzyme engineering, EPR spectroscopy, statistics and data analytics. His group’s aim is to develop multi-component enzyme mixtures for depolymerizing complex carbohydrates into simple sugars and depolymerizing lignin to defined intermediates. This work includes structural and functional characterization of enzymes discovered in microbes and microbial communities and engineering enzymes enhanced performance in industrially relevant biorefining environments such as the presence of ionic liquids and extremes of temperature and pH.

Projects

  • High-throughput screening of cellulolytic enzymes across a matrix of conditions (T, pH, ionic liquid) to identify enzymes for mixture optimization and to understand the protein features that impart ionic liquid tolerance
  • Understanding the enzymes involved in enzymatic depolymerization and metabolism of lignin and combining these enzymes to generate defined lignin fragments
  • Developing novel methods for recovery and recycle of enzymes
  • Understanding the changes in enzyme kinetics resulting from the presence of an ionic liquid
  • Engineering enzymes for improved IL tolerance

Publications

Kenneth Sale, Jose Rodriguez Ruiz, Yooli Light, Mary Tran-Gyamfi, Matthew Hirakawa, Anthe George, Gina Geiselman, Salvador Martinez, (2022). Synthetic Microbial Consortium for Biological Breakdown and Conversion of Lignin https://doi.org/10.2172/1891189 Publication ID: 80282

Daniella Martinez, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, Steven Singer, Daniella Martinez, Jose Rodriguez Ruiz, Miranda Juarros, Estevan Martinez, Todd Alam, Kenneth Sale, Michael Kent, (2022). Depolymerization of lignin for biological conversion through sulfonation and a chelator-mediated Fenton reaction Green Chemistry https://doi.org/10.1039/d1gc03854k Publication ID: 79998

Nicole Ing, Kai Deng, Yan Chen, Martina Aulitto, Jennifer Gin, Thanh Pham, Christopher Petzold, Steve Singer, Benjamin Bowen, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, Anup Singh, Paul Adams, Trent Northen, (2021). A multiplexed nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS) assay for simultaneously detecting glycosyl hydrolase and lignin modifying enzyme activities Scientific Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91181-8 Publication ID: 77377

Paul Wolski, Alberto Lopes, Kai Deng, Blake Simmons, Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, Steven Singer, Kenneth Sale, (2021). High Throughput expression and characterization of laccases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae https://doi.org/10.2172/1866049 Publication ID: 78275

Paul Wolski, Alberto Lopes, Kai Deng, Blake Simmons, Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, Steven Singer, Kenneth Sale, (2021). High Throughput expression and characterization of laccases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Poster] https://doi.org/10.2172/1866050 Publication ID: 78276

Thanh Pham, Kai Deng, Trent Northen, Steven Singer, Paul Adams, Blake Simmons, Kenneth Sale, (2021). Expression of fungal laccase in Pichia pastoris and characterization of their activity using nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry assay https://doi.org/10.2172/1863190 Publication ID: 78025

Michael Kent, Daniella Martinez, Jose Rodriguez Ruiz, Miranda Juarros, Estevan Martinez, Todd Alam, Blake Simmons, Kenneth Sale, Steven Singer, (2021). Depolymerization of lignin for biological conversion through sulfonation and a chelator-mediated Fenton reaction https://doi.org/10.2172/1863494 Publication ID: 78062

Michael Kent, Daniella Martinez, Miranda Juarros, Nelson Bell, Estevan Martinez, Todd Alam, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, (2021). Polyacids from lignin https://doi.org/10.2172/1863495 Publication ID: 78063

Michael Kent, Kenneth Sale, James Ricken, Daniella Martinez, Miranda Juarros, Walrdop-Grover Walrdop-Grover, (2019). Screening for Dimerization Inhibitors for Bacterial Acetyl CoA Carboxylase https://doi.org/10.2172/1573932 Publication ID: 66166

Christopher Brenden, Michael Kent, Jijao Zeng, Nadeya Rader, Isaac Avina, Casey Simoes, Michael Busse, John Watt, Nicholas Giron, Todd Alam, Mark Allendorf, Blake Simmons, Nelson Bell, Kenneth Sale, (2018). Lignin valorization to a water-soluble polyacid with comparable industrial dispersant performance https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1806763 Publication ID: 63340

Meghan Dailey, Dongmei Ye, Kenneth Sale, Danae Maes, Casey Simoes, Leah Appelhans, Dulce Hayes, Michael Kent, Jerilyn Timlin, (2018). Accumulation of lignin-breakdown products in several lignolytic and non-lignolytic bacteria and fungi https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1495744 Publication ID: 60689

Michael Kent, Jijiao Zeng, Nadeya Rader, Isaac Avina, Casey Simoes, Christopher Brenden, Michael Busse, Nicholas Giron, Mathew Celina, Mark Allendorf, Blake Simmons, Nelson Bell, Kenneth Sale, (2017). Efficient Conversion of Lignin into a water-soluble polymer by a Chelator-Mediated Fenton Reaction: Optimization of H2O2 & Performance as a Dispersant https://doi.org/10.1039/C7GC03459H Publication ID: 53922

Michael Kent, Jijiao Zeng, Nadeya Rader, Casey Simoes, Isaac Avina, Michael Busse, Amanda Kohler, Simmons Simmons, Blake A., Kenneth Sale, (2017). Insights into the reaction of laccase/mediator systems with insoluble lignin https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1480669 Publication ID: 53924

Kai Deng, Jijiao Zeng, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, Paul Adams, Anup Singh, Trent Northen, (2017). Synthetic Chemical Probes for Studying Lignin Deconstruction and Analysis of Biofuel Molecules Using Nanostructure-Initiator Mass Spectrometry (NIMS) https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1510402 Publication ID: 53483

Jijiao Zeng, Nadeya Rader, Casey Simoes, Michael Busse, Michael Brumbach, Rui Katahari, Greg Beckham, Blake Simmons, Kenneth Sale, Michael Kent, (2017). Reaction of laccase-HBT with lignin: optimization and mechanistic insights https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1457996 Publication ID: 56303

Haifeng Geng, Mary Tran-Gyamfi, Kenneth Sale, Todd Lane, (2016). Substructural details of chemical driven shifts in the Nannochloropsis salina microbiota https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1376782 Publication ID: 51748

Haifeng Geng, Mary Tran-Gyamfi, Kenneth Sale, Todd Lane, (2016). Utilizing Biocomplexity to Propagate Stable Algal Blooms in Open System https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1375582 Publication ID: 51637

Haifeng Geng, Kenneth Sale, Mary Tran-Gyamfi, Todd Lane, Eizadora Yu, (2016). Longitudinal Analysis of Microbiota in Microalga Nannochloropsis salina Cultures Microbial Ecology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-016-0746-4 Publication ID: 48532

Kenneth Sale, (2016). Enzyme Engineering for Biofuels https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1428015 Publication ID: 49996

Michael Kent, Jijiao Zeng, Nadeya Rader, Casey Simoes, Michael Busse, Nicholas Giron, Mathew Celina, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, Nelson Bell, (2016). Polyacid dispersants from Lignin https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1365678 Publication ID: 49117

Michael Kent, Isaac Avina, Nadeya Rader, Michael Busse, Anthe George, Noppandon Sathitsuksanoh, Nicholas Giron, Jerilyn Timlin, Ronen Polsky, Victor Chavez, Dale Huber, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, (2016). New assay for lignin depolymerization based on lignin films https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1365676 Publication ID: 49119

Vitalie Stavila, Ramakrishnan Parthasarathi, Ryan Davis, Farid El Gabaly, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, Seema Singh, Mark Allendorf, (2016). MOF-Based Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenolysis of Carbon-Oxygen Ether Bonds ACS Catalysis https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.5b02061 Publication ID: 42669

Michael Kent, Isaac Avina, Nadeya Rader, Kevin Turner, Anthe George, Jerilyn Timlin, Ronen Polsky, James Ricken, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, (2014). Fuels and Chemicals from Lignocellulosic Biomass: Valorization of Lignin https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1242073 Publication ID: 39261

Todd Lane, Kenneth Sale, Haifeng Geng, Mary Tran-Gyamfi, (2014). The Contribution of Founder Community to the Succession of Algal Microbiota Applied Environmental Microbiology https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1140322 Publication ID: 37196

Kenneth Sale, Joseph Schoeniger, Yooli Light, Aaron Highley, Eizadora Yu, (2014). Gas-phase hydrogen-deuterium exchange reveals multiple confor-mations of the SH3 domain of PI3 kinase highlighting potential role of allosteric enzyme control Journal of the American Chemical Society https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1127120 Publication ID: 36732

Jaclyn Murton, Dale Huber, Kenneth Sale, Blake Simmons, Michael Kent, (2012). Interactions of Endoglucanases with Amorphous Cellulose Films Resolved by Neutron Reflectometry and Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring Proposed for publication in Langmuir. https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1061092 Publication ID: 30009

Kenneth Sale, (2012). Improvements of biomass deconstruction enzymes https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1035845 Publication ID: 26970

R. Armstrong, Kenneth Sale, Joseph Schoeniger, John Solis, Jackson Mayo, (2012). Community-Based Resistance to Intrusion in Information Technology Systems https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1688625 Publication ID: 25854

Sidney Elmer, Kenneth Sale, Joseph Schoeniger, Kevin Turner, Yooli Light, Eizadora Yu, (2011). Molecular dynamics simulations of cross-linked helical peptides and SH3 protein domains https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1143856 Publication ID: 25542

Eizadora Yu, Aaron Highley, Sidney Elmer, Yooli Light, Joseph Schoeniger, Kenneth Sale, Darryl Sasaki, (2011). Gas-phase hydrogen-deuterium exchange coupled with ECD to investigate conformational dynamics in peptides and proteins https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1288683 Publication ID: 23087

Kenneth Sale, Joseph Schoeniger, Eizadora Yu, Yooli Light, (2010). How are the intrinsic motions of a protein related to enzymatic activity? https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1031905 Publication ID: 20787

Michael Kent, Steven Branda, Carl Hayden, Darryl Sasaki, Kenneth Sale, (2010). Initiation of the TLR4 signal transduction network : deeper understanding for better therapeutics https://doi.org/10.2172/1008139 Publication ID: 20223

Eizadora Yu, Sidney Elmer, Darryl Sasaki, Kenneth Sale, Joseph Schoeniger, (2010). Dynamical effects of incorporating site-specific crosslinks in peptides examined by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1020500 Publication ID: 18513

Eizadora Yu, Sidney Elmer, Darryl Sasaki, Kenneth Sale, Joseph Schoeniger, (2010). Dynamical effects of incorporating site-specific crosslinks in peptides examined by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1124336 Publication ID: 17238

Genetha Gray, Pamela Williams, W. Brown, Jean Faulon, Kenneth Sale, (2010). Disparate data fusion for protein phosphorylation prediction Annals of Operations Research https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1137291 Publication ID: 9601

David Reichmuth, Carol Kozina, Kenneth Sale, (2009). Synthetic Biology of Novel Thermophilic Bacteria for Enhanced Production of Ethanol from 5-Carbon Sugars (LDRD # 105944) https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1141823 Publication ID: 16501

David Reichmuth, Carol Kozina, Kenneth Sale, (2009). Copy of Synthetic Biology of Novel Thermophilic Bacteria for Enhanced Production of Ethanol from 5-Carbon Sugars (LDRD # 105944) https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1142052 Publication ID: 16502

Eizadora Yu, Masood Hadi, Kenneth Sale, (2008). DNA-MEDIATED REF1 CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES: POSSIBLE MECHANISM FOR PROTEIN RECRUITMENT IN BASE EXCISION REPAIR (BER) PATHWAY https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1143380 Publication ID: 13805

Eizadora Yu, Masood Hadi, Kenneth Sale, (2008). PROBING APE-1 CONFORMATIONS AND PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTIONS INVOLVED IN THE BASE EXCISION REPAIR (BER) PATHWAY https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1146257 Publication ID: 12609

Jean Faulon, Milind Misra, Shawn Martin, Kenneth Sale, Rajat Sapra, (2008). Genome scale enzyme – Metabolite and drug – Target interaction predictions using the signature molecular descriptor Bioinformatics https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btm580 Publication ID: 9240

Pamela Williams, Kenneth Sale, (2007). Identifying Protein Phosphorylation Sites Using Methods of Disparate Data Fusion https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1714523 Publication ID: 11491

Rajat Sapra, David Reichmuth, Kenneth Sale, Carol Kozina, (2007). Copy of Synthetic Biology of Novel Thermophilic Bacteria for Enhanced Production of Ethanol from 5-Carbon Sugars https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1147232 Publication ID: 11009

Kenneth Sale, Pamela Williams, George Davidson, (2007). Datapipelining for Heterogeneous Data Fusion https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1720348 Publication ID: 11171

Rick Jacobsen, Kenneth Sale, (2007). Protein Structure and Conformation Revealed Using Sequential Cross-linker Rate Measurements (SCRaM): Direct Measurement of Inter-Residue Distances and Secondary Structure https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1141442 Publication ID: 10079

Genetha Gray, Kenneth Sale, Pamela Williams, (2006). Disparate Data Fusion for Protein Phosphorylation Prediction https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1264179 Publication ID: 7952

Genetha Gray, Pamela Williams, Kenneth Sale, (2006). Enhancing information extraction by applying ensemble classification to disparate data sets https://www.osti.gov/biblio/886644 Publication ID: 6766

Diana Roe, Kenneth Sale, Jean Faulon, (2006). Developing algorithms for predicting protein-protein interactions of homology modeled proteins https://doi.org/10.2172/883467 Publication ID: 6481

Joseph Schoeniger, Marites Ayson, Rick Jacobsen, Pamela Lane, Kenneth Sale, Malin Young, (2005). Chemical crosslinking and mass spectrometry studies of the structure and dynamics of membrane proteins and receptors https://doi.org/10.2172/922763 Publication ID: 4753

Jean Faulon, Kenneth Sale, Joseph Schoeniger, Malin Young, (2004). A deterministic algorithm for constrained enumeration of transmembrane protein folds https://www.osti.gov/biblio/959090 Publication ID: 3367

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