Balch, William
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.
Barbas III, Carlos F.
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 M.
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.
Burton, Dennis R.
focuses his research primarily on human antibody responses to HIV and the design of an HIV vaccine. He has also worked on the interaction of antibodies and other pathogens, including respiratory syncytial virus, Ebola virus and prion proteins.
Cunningham, Bruce Arthur
studies the detailed properties of cell surface glycoproteins that play critical roles in neural development, particularly cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), which bind cells together and generate signals that determine a cell's developmental destiny.
Dawson, Philip Edward
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.
Dyson, Helen Jane
uses NMR to study the protein-folding process and to study the nature and behavior of unfolded and partly folded forms of proteins, including prion proteins and several newly-discovered, intrinsically unstructured proteins.
Edelman, Gerald M.
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 H.
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.
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.
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.
Getzoff, Elizabeth D.
aims to characterize functionally important protein conformational states by coupling crystallography, spectroscopy, molecular biology and computational analyses, and to apply that knowledge to protein and inhibitor design for key biological processes, including photoactivity, electron transfer, and enzyme catalysis.
Goodin, David B.
is focused on the rational engineering of metalloenzyme catalysts in order to better understand the chemical diversity of natural enzymes and to generate novel catalysts of potential utility.
Goodsell Jr., David S.
combines computer graphics and computational chemistry to study the basic mechanisms of protein structure and function.
Griffin, Patrick Robert
focuses on the application of mass spectrometry technology to probe protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions.
Harris, Jennifer Leslie
Heeb, Mary J.
examines the biochemistry and mechanism of action of novel anticoagulant molecules like protein Z and protein S, which may be valuable targets for intervention in thrombotic and vascular diseases.
Hoch, James A.
investigates developmentally programmed gene expression and signal transduction in cellular differentiation.
Izard, Tina
studies the structural dynamics of signaling mediators of adhesion junctions.
Johnson Jr., John Emil
uses a variety of cellular and molecular biology methods to develop and test atomic resolution models of particle-related events in the virus life cycle; he also uses viruses as a paradigm for developing methods to determine atomic resolution models of cellular mega-structures.
Kelly, Jeffery William
examines the bioorganic and biophysical chemistry of aberrant conformational changes in proteins associated with misfolding diseases, seeking to develop new approaches for preventing these diseases with purposefully designed small molecules.
Kodadek, Thomas
focuses his research in the area of chemical biology, deciphering the roles of the proteasome in transcription and understanding the mechanism of action of the hormone orexin.
Lesley, Scott A.
applies high throughput approaches to evaluate protein structural and functional diversity.
MacRae, Ian John
combines structural biology, biochemistry and cell biology to understand mechanisms of gene regulation by RNA interference.
Milligan, Ronald A.
uses cryo-electron microscopy and image analysis to study the structure and mechanism of action of large molecular machines such as actomyosin, kinesin-microtubules, MAPs-microtubles, VCP/p97 and dynein AAA ATPases, various membrane channels and transporters, and bacterial toxins.
Ollmann Saphire, Erica Ollmann
combines x-ray crystallography, biochemistry, and immunology to analyse proteins that play key roles in the pathogenesis of Ebola and other viral hemorrhagic fevers; structures of these proteins provide templates for vaccine design and enable rapid responses to newly emerging forms of the viruses.
Otomo, Takanori
studies structure and function of proteins involved in the autophagic pathway.
Powers, Evan T.
is interested in the energetics and mechanisms of protein folding and aggregation.
Ruggeri, Zaverio M.
investigates the mechanisms involved in normal and pathogenic platelet adhesion and the formation of blood clots.
Schmid, Sandra L.
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.
Stevens, Raymond C.
uses crystallography and biochemistry to probe the structure and function of molecules involved in neurotransmission and neurochemistry, seeking to understand how neuronal cells communicate at the molecular level and to create new molecules that affect neuronal signal transduction and recognition.
Stout, C. D.
determines crystal structures of a variety of biological macromolecules, primarily integral membrane associated enzymes and proton pumps, cytochrome P450s, and iron-sulfur enzymes, and including HIV protease mutants, self-assembling peptides, and RNA-protein complexes, in order to understand structure-function relationships and establish mechanism.
Strosberg, Donny D.
by studying protein-protein interactions in HCV, identifies and characterizes peptides and small molecules that affect host-pathogen relations, e.g. inhibit HCV release from cultured hepatoma cells.
Szurmant, Hendrik
is interested in the molecular mechanisms that govern signal
detection and signal transduction in Gram-positive bacteria
applying a combination of computational, structural, biochemical
and genetic approaches.
Tainer, John A.
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.
Tellinghuisen, Timothy Lee
focuses on understanding the assembly, composition, and activities of the RNA replication machinery of the hepatitis c virus
Torbett, Bruce E.
studies transcriptional regulation of myeloid development and function, develops and tests novel techniques for delivering genes to cells to provide protection against HIV or cancer; he also investigates how the structural changes in HIV protease contribute to biochemical functions that confer protease inhibitor resistance.
Williamson, Jamie R.
studies the structure and dynamics of RNA molecules and RNA-protein complexes involved in the regulation of gene expression by employing NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography for solving high-resolution three-dimensional structures and examining the mechanism of assembly of multiprotein-RNA complexes.
Wilson, Ian A.
has broad structural biology and structural genomics programs to determine thee-dimensional structure and biological function in a number of systems related to humoral, cellular and innate immunity, human disease, drug and vaccine design, influenza virus, HIV-1 , the expanding protein universe and metagenomics.
Wright, Peter E.
uses high-resolution, multi-dimensional, hetero-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study protein dynamics, folding, and recognition, particularly of structures of protein-DNA and protein-protein complexes involved in the regulation of transcription.
Wuthrich, Kurt
develops advanced techniques in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and applies them in protein structural biology and structural genomics projects.
Yang, Xiang-Lei
is elucidating the functional diversity of mammalian aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in signal transduction pathways involving angiogenesis, neurogenesis, inflammation and apoptosis, and how the different functions of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are activated and regulated.
Zwick, Michael Bruce
dissects the molecular requirements of neutralization of HIV by antibodies, particularly those against the envelope glycoprotein, gp41; develops strategies for selecting HIV neutralizing antibodies and HIV envelope glycoprotein variants, to inform vaccine design.
