She studies metal ion coordination in biological systems and looks to use the insight to manage species such as copper and iron.
[2] She moved to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for her graduate studies, where she worked under the supervision of Stephen J. Lippard and completed her PhD in 2001.
[1] Her research considered the nitric oxide reactivity of manganese, iron and cobalt tropocoronand ligands.
For example, by disrupting the amount of iron in a cell it is possible to withhold an essential pathogen, limiting the growth of microbes.
[6] Franz also works on anti-cancer prochelators; molecules that do not have much affinity for metal ions, but can be triggered until they undergo a chemical conversion.
[6] Gamma-glutamyltransferase is an enzyme that is overexpressed in cancer, and releases the chelator dithiocarbamate from the prochelator developed by Franz's research group, which forms a toxic copper complex.