Rate My Professor Richard Watt

Richard K. Watt is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Brigham Young University, where he conducts research in inorganic chemistry and biochemistry. He earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from Brigham Young University in 1993 and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998, with a minor in Inorganic Chemistry. His dissertation focused on the nickel processing system in Rhodospirillum rubrum. From 1998 to 2000, he performed postdoctoral research at Princeton University in photosynthesis, biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, and inorganic chemistry. Watt began his academic career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of New Mexico from 2000 to 2006. He joined Brigham Young University as an Assistant Professor in 2006 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012.

Watt's research specializes in bioinorganic chemistry, focusing on biological trace mineral research, particularly iron trafficking systems essential for preventing oxidative stress in the body. His lab examines how transition metals like iron are absorbed from the diet, transported in the bloodstream via ferroportin and transferrin, and delivered to cells. Disruptions in these systems contribute to diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, kidney disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, anemia of chronic inflammation, and iron overload. Key studies include hepcidin inhibitors that stabilize ferroportin to restore iron delivery, homocysteine's role in iron dysregulation in Alzheimer’s, and development of rapid diagnostic tools such as the simple empowering lateral flow immunoassay (seLFI) and antibody pens for monitoring biomarkers. Watt holds multiple patents, including US 9,809,613 B2 (2017) for metal-catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose to produce carbohydrates, methods for anemia treatment via furin inhibition, hepcidin inhibitors, paper lateral flow immunoassays, and hepcidin filters. Notable publications encompass 'Redox Reactions of Apo Mammalian Ferritin' (Biochemistry, 1992), 'The Identification, Purification and Characterization of CooJ: A Nickel-Binding Protein' (J. Biol. Chem., 1998), 'Nickel Transport in Rhodospirillum rubrum' (J. Bacteriol., 1999), 'Photoassembly of the Manganese Cluster' (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 1999), and 'Nanophase Iron Minerals Synthesized within Ferritin' (Inorg. Chem., 2005). He received the BYU General Education Professorship in 2021 and the Best Engineering Paper award from the Journal of the Utah Academy for 2016-2017.