Biomolecular and Protein Engineering

Sally Ward, Ph.D.
Track Director 

This is a relatively new discipline that focuses on the design, generation, and analysis of proteins and other biomolecules with modified or new activities, for both research and clinical applications. Interdisciplinary approaches are used to optimize the in vivo dynamics of an engineered protein for its particular application, as well as deliver these proteins to their target site.

The Biomolecular and Protein Engineering Track in the BME Ph.D. program includes coursework in areas such as protein biochemistry, protein modeling and structure determination, antibody engineering, fluorescence microscopy, and medical imaging that complements the laboratory training of graduate students.

Faculty

Jinming Gao, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Theranostic nanomedicine; cancer molecular imaging; nanotechnology

Nick Grishin, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Computational biology 

Qui-Xing Jiang, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Lipid effects on voltage-gated ion channels, surface-engineering technology for imaging biological complexes of low abundance

Wen-Hong Li, Ph.D. 
Research Interests: Intercellular communications through gap junctions; molecular engineering of fluorescent sensors for cellular imaging; wide field, confocal and multiphoton fluorescence microscopy; mechanisms and functions of cellular calcium signaling

Raimund Ober, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Single molecule microscopy; microscopy instrumentation; image analysis; biosensor data analysis; systems biology and modeling; antibody trafficking; FcRn; cancer biology and autoimmunity

Ellen Vitetta, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interests: Monoclonal antibodies and immunotoxins in cancer and AIDS; new vaccines

Sally Ward, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Antibody engineering; fluorescence microscopy; Fc receptor and growth factor receptor trafficking; development of therapies for cancer and autoimmunity

Michael White, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Molecular architecture of growth regulatory signal transduction cascades