Ayad, Nagi G.
studies the cell biological basis of cell cycle exit and differentiation of neuronal precursors as it relates to cancer and nerve regeneration.
Baccala, Roberto
is studying mechanisms of T-cell homeostasis and associated defects in autoimmunity, focusing on developing new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Baran, Phil S.
explores new avenues for the efficient and practical construction of organic molecules, both naturally occurring and man-made, by pursuing longstanding synthetic challenges and by designing methods of broad utility.
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.
Boger, Dale L.
works on the total synthesis of biologically active natural products using the tools of organic synthesis to identify, imitate, understand, exploit, and sometimes surpass what nature provides.
Bois, Philippe Roger Jean
works to determine the mechanisms that define and control recombinogenic regions in complex mammalian genomes.
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.
Burris, Thomas P
research focuses on chemical biology of nuclear receptors, protein molecules that mediate hormone activity inside the cell that are potential drug targets for a number of diseases including prostate, breast and colon cancers, as well as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome and autoimmunity.
Chisari, Francis V.
studies the immunological basis for viral clearance and disease pathogenesis during persistent viral infections, especially HBV and HCV, the ability of T cell-derived cytokines to inhibit viral replication without killing infected cells, the signaling pathways and effector molecules that mediate these antiviral effects, and the viral evasion strategies that subvert them.
Chun, Jerold Jun Ming
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.
Cleveland, John Lamoine
studies the molecular basis of cancer with a focus on malignancies having myc involvement, which is activated in 70% of all human cancers. Target discovery validation using mouse models, and cancer prevention and therapeutics are the major focuses of the laboratory.
Cravatt, Benjamin F.
studies the action and regulation of chemical messengers, particularly the fatty acid amides, which mediate physiological phenomena like pain sensation, sleep, and thermoregulation; he designs and uses chemical probes for "active site proteomics," the global analysis of protein function.
Danuser Andres, Gaudenz Martin
develops image processing software for advanced fluorescence light microscopy and computational models of cytoskeleton mechanics to study the molecular regulation of cell migration and chromosome segregation.
Dickerson, Tobin Jarret
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.
Ding, Sheng
is applying arrayed large-scale chemical, cDNA, and siRNA libraries and novel high throughput cellular screens to identify and characterize small molecules and genes that can control stem cell fate in various embryonic and adult stem cell systems and modulate specific signaling pathways in development and regeneration.
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.
Finn, M.G.
uses viruses as building blocks for biologically active structures, diagnostic agents, immunogenic platforms, and drug delivery vehicles; and also develops new bioconjugation methods, enzyme inhibitors, and functional materials using "click chemistry," and studies organic and organometallic reaction mechanisms.
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.
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.
Ghadiri, M.Reza
develops novel methods for the rational design and construction of functional and interesting bioorganic molecules, such as novel antimicrobial agents, catalytic peptides, biosensors, self-replicating systems, and molecular logic gates.
Goodsell Jr., David S.
combines computer graphics and computational chemistry to study the basic mechanisms of protein structure and function.
Gottesfeld, Joel M.
is concerned with protein-DNA interactions involved in the transcriptional regulation in animal cells and the development of small molecule inhibitors and activators of gene expression.
Havran, Wendy L.
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.
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.
Izard, Tina
studies the structural dynamics of signaling mediators of adhesion junctions.
Janda, Kim D.
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.
Joyce, Gerald F.
studies the test-tube evolution of RNA and DNA enzymes, both to explore their potential biomedical applications and to examine their possible role in the early history of life on Earth.
Keinan, Ehud
Kishi, Shuji
aims to develop a high-throughput processing system for gene identification and phenotype characterization particularly associated with age-related disorders in humans, using zebarfish as an amenable vertebrate model system.
Lazzerini Denchi, Eros
focuses on the mechanisms that protect chromosome ends and their deregulation in human pathologies such as cancer and aging
Lee, Jiing-Dwan
applies conditional knockout models to understand the mechanisms of action of the intracellular signaling pathways that are critical for the progression of tumors in humans in order to find molecular targets for cancer prevention and intervention.
Liang, Chris
Design, synthesis, and testing of novel small molecular therapeutics.
Luo, Junli
focuses on mechanistic and translational research in molecular signaling that connects epigenetic factors with genetic events during tumor genesis, progression and metastasis
MacRae, Ian John
combines structural biology, biochemistry and cell biology to understand mechanisms of gene regulation by RNA interference.
Mc Gowan, Clare H.
examines the molecular mechanisms and players that regulate the human cell cycle, focusing on DNA damage checkpoints and DNA repair enzymes like Mus81, which resolves strands of duplex DNA that become crossed during replication.
Micalizio, Glenn Christophe
focuses research on the development of new chemical methods and strategies for the total synthesis of complex biologically interesting natural products, and for the discovery of small molecules with interesting biological properties.
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.
Mosier, Donald E.
studies the the basic biology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its viral dynamics in vivo, looking at how the replication and infectivity of the virus alters with mutations to its genome.
Nettles, Kendall William
researches small molecule ligands, and their interaction with nuclear receptors in the cell’s interior, that may be targets for hormone-driven diseases such as breast and prostate cancers.
Nicolaou, K.C.
works on the total synthesis of biologically active natural and designed molecules and the discovery and development of new synthetic strategies and technologies.
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.
Paegel, Brian M
studies the controlled synthesis and engineering of phospholipid vesicles and emulsions, microfluidic circuit design, and directed evolution of membrane-associated transporters, pores, and receptors.
Petrie, Howard T.
focuses on the production of specialized blood cells called T lymphocytes, which are central mediators of the immune response. Understanding this is central in developing treatments for immunodeficiencies resulting from environmental exposure (such as HIV/AIDS) or aging.
Quigley, James P.
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 I.
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 Eric
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.
Roush, William R.
focuses on the total synthesis of structurally complex and biologically interesting natural products, development of new synthetic methods and strategies, and on problems in medicinal and bioorganic chemistry.
Russell, Paul R.
studies DNA damage response mechanisms that are relevant to the prevention and treatment of cancer; investigates how cells tolerate exposure to environmental toxins.
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.
Schork, Nicholas J
focuses on the development and implementation of analysis methods for understanding the genetic determinants of complex human traits and diseases such as cancer, neuropsychiatric disease, and cardiovascular disease. These methods focus on both the design, integration, and interpretation of studies making use of contemporary high throughput genomic technologies.
Schroeter, Thomas
focuses on the development and characterization of small molecule kinase inhibitors and predictive toxicology screens to develop potent and safe drug candidates
Sharpless, K. Barry
discovers new and useful transformations for organic synthesis, particularly employing inorganic catalysts and olefin-derived compounds of high reactivity; he also applies "in situ" click chemistry, which makes enzymes into reaction vessels and templates for the formation of their own inhibitors.
Sherman, Linda A.
looks at the immune system's basic strategy of discriminating between "self" and "non-self" through T lymphocytes, seeking to augment their ability to respond to certain self-antigens on tumor cells and to diminish their aberrant destruction of self-tissue in autoimmune diseases.
Siuzdak, Gary E.
is interested in the design and application of mass spectrometry technology including pulsed laser desorption/ionization from silicon surfaces, understanding virus structure/activity, and metabolite profiling.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tan, Eng M.
seeks to identify the antibodies involved in autoimmune diseases like lupus and scleroderma, characterize their intracellular antigens, and investigate the relationship of the autoimmune response to disease mechanisms.
Theofilopoulos, Argyrios
works on the identification of predisposing and effector genes in systemic autoimmunity, as exemplified in spontaneous mouse models of lupus. Both forward (phenotype → genes) and reverse (gene → phenotype) approaches are used and several genes that promote (type I and II IFNs) or suppress (coronin 1A) this disease have thus far been identified.
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.
Wittenberg, Curt
studies the role of cell cycle regulated transcription and proteolysis in cell cycle regulation via cyclin dependent protein kinases.
Wong, Chi-Huey
directs his research towards the development of new chemical-enzymatic strategies for the synthesis of biologically active compounds and chiral intermediates; the design and synthesis of mechanism-based inhibitors of enzymes or receptors; the study of carbohydrate-based biological recognition and its intervention; and the investigation of reaction mechanisms.
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.
Xiao, Changchun
studies the functions of microRNA control and its underlying molecular mechanisms in the mammalian immune system, under health and disease conditions.
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.