Diana Tomchick, PhD

Professor
Biochemistry
Graduate Program: Biological Chemistry
Molecular Biophysics

Contact Information

UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75390

Office Phone: 214-648-3338
Office Fax: 214-648-8856

diana.tomchick@utsouthwestern.edu

Education

Graduate SchoolUniversity of Wisconsin Centers, Chemistry (1990)

Research Interests

Molecular mechanisms of neurotransmitter release, as studied by x-ray crystallography.
Structure and function of lipoproteins from the bacterium T. pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis.
Structure and mechanism of enzymes and metalloenzymes.
Structure of proteins involved in cell signaling and division.

Publications

Featured
The PnrA (Tp0319; TmpC) lipoprotein represents a new family of bacterial purine nucleoside receptor encoded within an ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-like operon in Treponema pallidum.

Deka R.K., Brautigam C.A., Yang X.F., Blevins J.S., Machius M., Tomchick D.R., Norgard M.V. , J. Biol. Chem. , 2006; (281):8072-8081

Featured
Structural basis of Rho GTPase-mediation activation of the formin mDia1.

Otomo T., Otomo C., Tomchick D.R., Machius M., Rosen M.K. , Molecular Cell , 2005; (18):273-281

Featured
Structural basis of actin filament nucleation and processive capping by a formin homology 2 domain.

Otomo T., Tomchick D.R., Otomo C., Panchal S.C., Machius M., Rosen M.K. , Nature , 2005; (433):488-494

Featured
A protein catalytic framework with an N-terminal nucleophile is capable of self-activation.

Brannigan J.A., Dodson G., Duggleby H.J., Moody P.C.E., Smith J.L., Tomchick D.R., and Murzin A.G. , Nature , 1995; (378):416-419

Featured
Three-dimensional structure of myosin subfragment-1: a molecular motor.

Rayment I., Rypniewski W.R., Schmidt-Base K., Smith R., Tomchick D.R., Benning M.M., Winkelmann D.A., Wesenberg G., and Holden H.M. , Science , 1993; (261):50-58

Structural basis of histone demethylation by LSD1 revealed by suicide inactivation.

Yang M., Culhane J.C., Szewczuk L.M., Gocke C.B., Brautigam C.A., Tomchick D.R., Machius M., Cole P.A., Yu H. , Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. , 2007; (14):535-539

Structural analysis of Xanthomonas XopD provides insights into substrate specificity of ULPs.

Chosed R., Tomchick D.R., Brautigam C.A., Mukherjee S., Negi V.S., Machius M., Orth K. , J. Biol. Chem. , 2007; (282):6773-6782

Crystal structure of the Tp34 (TP0971) lipoprotein of Treponema pallidum: Implications of its metal-bound state and affinity for human lactoferrin.

Deka R.K., Brautigam C.A., Tomson F.L., Lumpkins S.B., Tomchick D.R., Machius M., Norgard M.V. , J. Biol. Chem. , 2007; (287):5944-5958

Structural basis for CoREST-dependent demethylation of nucleosomes by the human LSD1 histone demethylase.

Yang M., Gocke C.B., Luo X., Borek D., Tomchick D.R., Machius M., Otwinowski Z., Yu H. , Molecular Cell , 2006; (23):377-387

Structural basis for a Munc13-1 Homodimer to Munc13-1/RIM heterodimer switch.

Lu J., Machius M., Dulubova I., Dai H., Sudhof T.C., Tomchick D.R., Rizo J. , PLOS Biology , 2006; (Vol. 4, No. 7):e192 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040192

Honors/Awards

National Merit Scholar

Washington State University (1993)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

American Chemical Society

American Crystallographic Association

American Society for Microbiology