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TSRI Faculty Interests
Fluorescence Microscopy Balch, William E.
is interested in the biochemical and molecular basis for vesicular trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cell surface, particularly in the structures, functions, and mechanisms of control exerted by small GTP-binding proteins.
Baldwin, Kristin
studies the sense of smell by genetically visualizing the neural circuits of the mouse olfactory system and uses mouse cloning and stem cell technology to investigate the molecular mechanisms that govern neural circuit formation and function throughout the nervous system.
Barbas III, Carlos
designs zinc finger protein-based transcription factors for the directed regulation of gene expression and gene discovery; programs complex reaction mechanisms into antibodies and uses them to treat cancer; develops new approaches to catalytic asymmetric synthesis; and uses phage display methods to evolve antibodies with the potential to become new immunotherapeutic and gene therapeutic approaches to diseases like breast and ovarian cancer, melanoma, and AIDS.
Bokoch, Gary
studies the control and integration of cellular activities initiated by GTP-binding proteins, seeking to determine how GTP-binding proteins function, how they are regulated at the molecular level, and how this regulation may be abnormal in various disease states.
Chun, Jerold
is interested in the study of lysophospholipid signaling in neural and systems biology, chromosomal aneuploidy in the nervous system, and disease related studies with a Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience approach.
Cline, Hollis
studies the analysis of the activity-dependent control of cell proliferation, neuronal development and circuit formation in the visual system using gene transfer, in vivo imaging and electrophysiological techniques.
Crossin, Kathryn
focuses on understanding the signaling capabilities of various cell adhesion molecules on the cell's plasma membrane, particularly the neural cell adhesion molecule, N-CAM, and its ability to signal hippocampal neural precursor cells to become neurons rather that astroglia and to activate the transcription factor NFkB in astrocytes.
Dawson, Philip
develops novel chemical ligation methodologies for the synthesis of natural and chemically engineered proteins to develop novel peptide based vaccines for HIV-1, study the molecular basis of protein folding and enzymatic catalysis, conjugate biological macromolecules to in complex systems such as cells, viruses and Quantum Dots and to develop synthetic protein pharmaceuticals.
Deniz, Ashok
develops and uses single-molecule fluorescence methods to study the dynamics and interactions of biological molecules during such processes as protein/RNA folding and assembly of the 30S subunit of the bacterial ribosome.
Dickerson, Tobin
develops biochemical technologies for predicting and treating evolving disease such as influenza, hepatitis C, and cancer, high-throughput screening paradigms for protein-ligand agonists/antagonists, combating filarial parasites, and the modulation of botulinum neurotoxin.
Edelman, Gerald
examines several areas related to nervous system development and neural function, including cell-cell interactions during embyronic development, the role of cell adhesion molecules in neural plasticity, the molecular genetics of connectional defects in the nervous system, and transcriptional regulation and translational control in eukaryotic cells.
Elder, John
focuses on the molecular and biological characterization of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which causes an AIDS-like disease in the domestic cat and is similar to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); his goal is to develop drug treatments and vaccines that may be employed to treat viral infections in both humans and cats.
Felding-Habermann, Brunhilde
establishes unique models of brain metastasis from circulating tumor cells of breast cancer patients and analyzes their properties in vitro and in vivo, investigates genes and functional pathways that control metastatic activity.
Fowler, Velia
studies the role of actin dynamics in regulating assembly and function of cytoskeletal structures that contribute to cell and tissue morphogenesis during embryonic development. Systems of interest include morphogenesis of epithelia, the eye lens, differentiation and stability of erythrocytes, and striated muscle development.
Friedlander, Martin
examines the mechanisms whereby proteins are asymmetrically integrated into cell membranes and studies the basic mechanisms of ocular angiogenesis and potential therapeutic applications for treating degenerative retinal and neovascular eye diseases.
Gascoigne, Nicholas
examines molecular and genetic interactions in T cell development and activation, including the spatiotemporal analysis of signaling cascades using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and other techniques to image molecular interactions in live cells.
Gerace, Larry
seeks to understand the mechanisms for regulation of signaling and cell differentiation by components of the nuclear envelope, particularly in regard to muscle, and the machinery for posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression by nucleocytoplasmic transport, mRNA translation and protein turnover, with focus on HIV-1.
Gruol, Donna
examines the pathways and mechanisms involved in neuronal signaling in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), developmental expression of signaling pathways, and the neuroadaptive mechanisms through which CNS disease and drugs alter neuronal signaling and viability.
Havran, Wendy
studies a unique subset of T lymphocytes, called "gamma-delta" T cells, which reside in epithelial tissues, are derived from fetal precursors, express a tissue-specific, invariant antigen receptor, and are involved in tissue repair as well as epithelial inflammatory diseases such as asthma and ulcerative colitis.
Janda, Kim
Investigates biological catalysts, development of methods for the detection of and protection against chemical/biological warfare agents, combinatorial chemical libraries, synthesis and evaluation of enzyme inhibitors, solid-phase organic synthesis, quorum sensing within bacterial systems, lead discovery and detection strategies for tropical diseases, antibody/peptide phage display libraries, cell-penetrating peptides as therapeutic delivery vehicles, and the application of immunopharmacotherapy in the treatment of drug addiction, cancer and obesity.
Lazzerini Denchi, Eros
focuses on the mechanisms that protect chromosome ends and their deregulation in human pathologies such as cancer and aging
MacRae, Ian
combines structural biology, biochemistry and cell biology to understand mechanisms of gene regulation by RNA interference.
McKay, Dianne
explores the intracellular signaling events and pathways that lead to the tolerance or rejection of transplanted organs by T cells.
Milner, Richard
uses a combination of mouse models and tissue culture cell–based assays to examine the role of fibronectin and endothelial fibronectin receptors in promoting cerebral angiogenesis during cerebral hypoxia and ischemia.
Morris, Kevin
is interested in understanding the mechanism of long antisense non-coding RNA mediated transcriptional regulation in human cells in order to develop small antisense non-coding RNA based approaches to regulate HIV-1 and human cancer.
Mueller, Ulrich
focuses on the genes and the gene mutations that contribute to the pathology of Usher syndrome, other human diseases related to mechanosensory perception, and central nervous system diseases
Nemazee, David
studies "receptor editing," a novel immunological tolerance mechanism in which developing B lymphocytes that carry autoreactive cell surface antibody are stimulated to "reprogram" their immunoglobulin genes by further rounds of DNA recombination.
Nemerow, Glen
investigates the interaction of adenovirus with host cells, looking at the basic mechanisms involved in virus attachment, internalization, membrane penetration, and nuclear localization, and seeking to design novel adenoviral vectors with increased capacity to deliver therapeutic genes to specific cell types.
Noodleman, Louis
uses quantum chemistry and protein electrostatics to investigate the electronic structures and active site mechanisms of redox metalloproteins, such as respiratory iron-sulfur proteins, the nitrogen fixing nitrogenase enzyme, and the iron-oxo dimer enzymes methane monooxygenase and ribonucleotide reductase.
Oldstone, Michael
studies the interaction of viruses and the immune system, how viruses persist and the resultant disease, how a non-lytic virus alters the differentiation function of the infected cell, investigates infectious protein folding disease and uses transgenic mouse models to understand human diseases. Included are molecular explorations for how viruses suppress the immune system or on the other side of the coin, induce autoimmunity.
Patapoutian, Ardem
studies the molecular basis of the sense of touch by using genomics, imaging, and transgenic technologies to identify and characterize ion channel proteins involved in the perception of distinct thermal, mechanical, and chemical stimuli.
Paulson, James
studies carbohydrate recognition and the molecular biology of carbohydrate binding proteins, like CD22, which mediate key aspects of cell signaling in the immune system.
Quigley, James
uses in vivo models, directed enzyme inhibitors and specific function-blocking antibodies to identify pathways and molecules which contribute to tumor metastasis and angiogenesis.
Reed, Steven
focuses on the regulation of cell cycle progression through cyclin-dependent kinases and related proteins, particularly the role of regulated proteolysis in cell cycle control and how defects in the proteolytic machinery can promote carcinogenesis.
Romesberg, Floyd
seeks to understand and evolve novel protein function by expanding the genetic code, to understand the molecular basis of DNA damage, repair, and mutagenesis, and to use femtosecond laser pulses to probe protein dynamics.
Salomon, Daniel
investigates how molecular mechanisms driving immune cell activation and tissue injury, both critical components of cell and organ transplant rejection, are regulated at the gene transcriptional and proteomic level to map molecular networks that determine clinical outcomes.
Sauer, Karsten
We combine broad functional genomics approaches with traditional, hypothesis-driven research to identify and functionally characterize novel genes with important roles in lymphocyte development and function. A particular focus of the lab are signal transduction mechanisms downstream of the T cell receptor.
Schmid, Sandra
is defining the molecular mechanisms of receptor-mediated endocytosis, which involves the concentration of receptor-ligand complexes into clathrin coated pits, their internalization via coated vesicles, and the regulation of these events by GTPases and kinases.
Stowers, Lisa
studies the ligands, neurons, and brain nuclei that initiate social behavior using molecular genetics and genomics; her work is determining the rules that generate the information coding of neuronal networks.
Sun, Peiqing
seeks to delineate the signal transduction pathways mediating cellular responses to oncogenic mutations, and to systematically search for genetic alterations that contribute to specific cancer-associated phenotypes by screening cDNA expression libraries and siRNA libraries.
Surh, Charles
studies how naive and memory T cells develop and survive under normal physiological conditions, and explores new ways of modulating T cells populations for treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Tainer, John
develops and applies advanced tools for high-impact structural biology including combined x-ray scattering in solution and x-ray crystallography on complexes at his synchrotron beamline to bridge
from complexes and conformations to pathways and phenotypes by characterizing macromolecular machines, novel inhibitors, and the molecular basis for diseases and intervention strategies.
Wittenberg, Curt
studies the role of cell cycle regulated transcription and proteolysis in cell cycle regulation via cyclin dependent protein kinases.
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