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Research in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

There are 25 core faculty members in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology working on a diverse range of research projects. These projects are interdisciplinary in nature and will provide students with training in many different areas including cellular and molecular biology, genetics, virology, enzymology, structural biology, and biophysics. The department has state-of-the-art facilities and equipment that are available to faculty and students for their individual research programs. In addition to the traditional areas in biochemistry and molecular biology, we have developed strong research and educational programs in structural biology. Members of the faculty have expertise in cryoelectron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, NMR and imaging and actively collaborate with other research groups to address fundamental questions about biomolecular structure. Specific research interests of the faculty are listed below and grouped by area with links to faculty members' home pages.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Faculty Research Interests Grouped by Category

Enzymatic Mechanisms and Structure-Function Relationships
C. Allen: Protein prenyl transferases
L. Bloom: Prokaryotic and eucaryotic DNA replication/repair complexes
B. Cain: F1,F0 ATPase
B. Dunn: Protease inhibitors and active site interactions
J. Flanegan: Viral RNA polymerases
P. Laipis: Carbonic anhydrase isozymes
R. McKenna: Carbonic anhydrase; carnitine acetyl transferase
D. Purich: Enzymology of cell motility
K. Brown: Cell cycle regulatory kinases
K. Robertson: Enzymology of DNA methyltransferases, methyltransferase complexes
M. Kladde: Discovery and enzymology of DNA methyltransferases

Gene Regulation and the Control of Protein Function
J. Bungert: Beta-globin gene cluster regulation
S. Frost: Glucose transport in adipocytes, insulin resistance
M. Kilberg: Nutrient control of gene expression
P. McGuire: Recombinant human antibodies; phage display
P. Laipis: Phenylalanine hydroxylase
T. Yang: HGPRTase regulation and silencing
K. Robertson: Epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes, cDNA microarrays
K. Brown: Epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressors in cancer
J. Lu: chromatin regulators in control of E2F activity and cell proliferation
S. Huang: epigenetic regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression
M. Kladde: Chromatin remodeling in gene activation; epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressors

Nucleic Acid-Protein Interactions and Chromatin Structure
L. Bloom: Sliding clamps in DNA replication
J. Bungert: Chromatin structure and protein binding
J. Flanegan: RNA-protein interactions; RNA replication and stability
M. Kilberg: Decoy elements; transcriptional blockage
P. Laipis: Adeno-associated virus integration
T. OBrien: RNA-protein interactions in ribosomes
T. Yang: DNA methylation in early embryos
K. Robertson: DNA methylation in development and differentiation
K. Brown: Activation of checkpoint/apoptotic pathways in response to DNA
J. Lu: chromatin association and remodeling
M. Kladde: Single-molecule and population probing of chromatin structure

Cytoskeletal and Membrane Proteins; Membrane Transport Processes
B. Cain: H-K ATPase and ion transport in kidney
S. Frost: Glucose transport
D. Purich: Cell motility, microtubules, actin filaments

Macromolecular Structure Determination
M. Agbandje-McKenna: Small DNA viruses
B. Dunn: Proteases and protease inhibitor complexes
A. Edison: Neuropepitde structure
T. Mareci: tissue structure and biochemistry in the nervous system by NMR
R. McKenna: Actin-protein complexes
T. OBrien: Ribosome structure
D. Purich: Cytoskeletal filament structures
J. Long: Biomolecular structure and dynamics