Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program Faculty

Program Chair:  Kevin H. Gardner

Joseph P. Albanesi -- Structure and assembly of neuronal cytoskeletal proteins; kinetics of force-generating enzymes; molecular basis of biomembrane fusion.

Steven Altschuler -- Self-organizing principles underlying cell polarization and migration; single-cell diversity in cancer.

Richard Auchus -- Biochemistry, physiology and structure/function studies of enzymes in steroid hormone biosynthesis and metabolism.

Paul Blount -- Molecular mechanisms of channels that gate in response to membrane tension.

Chad Brautigam -- Basic processes in living organisms at atomic level, using X-ray crystallography, analytical ultracentrifugation, isothermal titration calorimetry, and other biophysical techniques.

Yuh Min Chook -- Structures and mechanisms of nuclear transport and the nuclear pore complex.

David R. Corey -- Engineering proteins and nucleic acids for novel function.

Johann Deisenhofer -- Crystallography of biological macromolecules; structure and function of proteins.

Christian Forst -- Computational systems biology, host-pathogen interactions (Influenza, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Toxoplasma gondii), host response, drug development and emergence of infectious diseases.

Kevin H. Gardner -- Biophysical and biochemical studies of photosensors and other environmental sensory proteins.

Harold R. (Skip) Garner, Jr. -- Automation and instrumentation for genomics research; DNA sequence analysis; computational biology.

Elizabeth J. Goldsmith -- Crystallographic studies of signal-transducing proteins.

Nick Grishin (Nikolai Grichine) -- Computational biology; analysis of protein sequences and structures.

Qiu-Xing Jiang -- Structure and function of large membrane assemblies including ion channels and transporters using electron cryo-microscopy and crystallographic analysis to generate 3D structures and perform functional studies in in vitro or in vivo systems.

Youxing Jiang -- Structure and function of ion channels/transporters using X-ray protein crystallography and electrophysiological tools.

Ege Kavalali -- Synaptic functional architecture and dynamics of presynaptic specializations.

Hanzhang Lu -- Magnetic resonance studies of vascular physiology and metabolism of the brain.

Xuelian (Sue) Luo -- Protein structure determination by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR); protein folding; cell cycle checkpoints and cancer.

Craig R. Malloy -- The analysis of metabolism in intact tissues by NMR spectroscopy; development of new methods to understand metabolic processes in functioning cells.

Ralph P. Mason -- Development of novel techniques for prognostic radiology with emphasis on tumor oxygenation, pH and efficacy of gene therapy; nuclear magnetic resonance, bioluminescence, PET and SPECT.

Zbyszek Otwinowski -- Three-dimensional structures of biological molecules.

Alexander Pertsemlidis -- MicroRNA regulation of lung cancer pathogenesis; genetic determinants of cardiovascular disease.

Julian A. (Bill) Peterson -- Structure/function studies of cytochrome P450; electron transfer; protein-protein interaction; oxygen activation.

Margaret A. (Meg) Phillips -- Polyamine and pyrimidine metabolism in trypanosome and malaria parasites.

Rama Ranganathan -- The evolutionary design of proteins and cellular signaling networks.

Luke Rice -- Integrating structure, kinetics, and computation to understand the molecular determinants and regulatory mechanisms of microtubule dynamics.

Jose Rizo-Rey -- Biophysical studies of the mechanisms of neurotransmitter release and intracellular membrane fusion.

Michael K. Rosen -- Structural, biochemical and cell biological mechanisms of signal transduction that control the actin cytoskeleton.

Elliott Ross -- Mechanisms of G-protein signaling; amplification, selectivity, response timing; structure/function of GTPase-activating proteins and associated receptors.

Gürol Süel -- Systems-level analysis of cellular decision-making and differentiation circuits.

Philip J. Thomas -- Structure, function and folding of membrane proteins.

Diana R. Tomchick -- Basic processes in living organisms at atomic level using X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy and other biophysical techniques.

Marc Turcotte -- Systems biology modeling and simulation; cell signaling; G proteins; complex systems (nonlinear dynamics); graph, network and control theory.

E. Sally Ward -- Genetic manipulation of antibodies and T cell receptors; autoimmune disease.

Lani Wu -- Self-organizing principles underlying cell polarization and migration; single-cell diversity in cancer.

Yang Xie -- Processing and analysis of high throughput data; false discovery rate estimation; integrated analysis methodology; Bayesian analysis methodology; design and analysis of clinical trials.

Hongtao Yu -- Molecular mechanisms of cell-cycle progression and mitotic checkpoints; structure determination of cell cycle regulatory proteins.

Hong Zhang -- Structural enzymology; NAD biosynthesis and regulation; structure-based drug design.

Xuewu Zhang -- Biochemical and Structural studies of regulation mechanisms for signaling proteins, especially receptor-mediated signaling pathways in neuron development and axonal guidance.

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