Charles Brenner

For other persons named Charles Brenner, see Charles Brenner (disambiguation).
Charles Brenner born October 30, 1961 is the Roy J. Carver Chair of Biochemistry and a director of the Obesity Initiative at the University of Iowa. He is a major contributor to work on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide metabolism, who discovered the eukaryotic nicotinamide riboside kinase pathway.

Brenner is a graduate of Wesleyan University and a veteran of biotechnology companies, having worked at Chiron Corporation and DNAX Research Institute, prior to graduate school at Stanford University School of Medicine. Brenner conducted post-doctoral research at Brandeis University with Gregory Petsko and then took his first academic position at Thomas Jefferson University in 1996, moving to Dartmouth Medical School in 2003, where he served as Associate Director for Basic Sciences at Norris Cotton Cancer Center. He was recruited to chair biochemistry at Iowa in 2009.

Brenner has made multiple contributions to molecular biology and biochemistry, beginning with purification and characterization of the Kex2 proprotein convertase at Stanford. He has been funded by agencies including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the March of Dimes, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Beckman Foundation, the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation. Significant research projects include molecular dissection of the function of the FHIT tumor suppressor gene, characterization and inhibition of DNA methylation, and discovery of new steps in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide metabolism.

Notably, the Brenner laboratory discovered that yeast and humans use nicotinamide riboside to make NAD+, for which Brenner was recognized with a William E.M. Lands lectureship at University of Michigan. In addition to gene discovery and characterization in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide metabolism, Dr. Brenner developed targeted, quantitative analysis of the NAD+ metabolomeand is active in translating nicotinamide riboside technologies to treat and prevent human conditions including diabetes mellitus type 2 and peripheral neuropathy. This work includes the first human trial of nicotinamide riboside, which demonstrated safe oral availability as an NAD+ precursor.

Brenner is author of more than 100 publications and was the senior editor of the 2004 book, Oncogenomics: Molecular Approaches to Cancer. ISBN 0-471-22592-4

In 2012, Brenner was asked by the President of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to develop pre-medical curriculum recommendations that would be consistent with a revised MCAT examination. These recommendations, which include development of inorganic, organic and biochemistry coursework that is more geared toward the chemistry of bioorganic functional groups, have been further refined in academic journals. Brenner's work in this area was recognized by the 2016 ASBMB Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education.

Brenner is a former member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a current member of the Scientific Advisory Board of ChromaDex, Scientific Adviser of Healthspan Research, and is the founder of NRomics.

• Charles Brenner and David Duggan (2004) Oncogenomics: Molecular Approaches to Cancer. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ. ISBN 0-471-22592-4