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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fokin, Valery
develops preactical catalytic transformations for organic synthesis, combinatorial chemistry, chemical biology, and materials research; searches for novel antiviral agents, nicotinic receptor ligands, and protease inhibitors.
Gallay, Philippe
looks at the glycoprotein attachment receptors on human cells that enhance the entry of HIV and works toward using those proteins as a guide for drug design.
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.
Gruol, Donna L.
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.
MacRae, Ian John
combines structural biology, biochemistry and cell biology to understand mechanisms of gene regulation by RNA interference.
Millar, David P.
uses single-molecule fluorescence and time-resolved laser spectroscopy to study the dynamics of enzyme-DNA interactions and the folding of catalytic RNA molecules.
Morris, Kevin Vance
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Paulson, James C.
studies carbohydrate recognition and the molecular biology of carbohydrate binding proteins, like CD22, which mediate key aspects of cell signaling in the immune system.
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.
Roberts, Amanda J.
investigates the neural bases of motivated behaviors such as drug self-administration, exploratory drive, and feeding.
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.
Sanna, Pietro P.
is interested in the molecular bases of forms of neural plasticity associated with physiologic events, such as learning, and pathologic events, such as the development of substance dependence.
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.
Siggins, George R.
uses extracellular, intracellular, and patch recording of neurons in vitro to study mechanisms of synaptic transmission and neuronal function and to understand the effects of neuropeptides, abused drugs, and neuropathologic insults.
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.
Surh, Charles D.
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.
Taffe, Michael A.
investigates the behavioral and physiological impact of exposure to substituted amphetamine drugs of abuse such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or "Ecstasy) and methamphetamine; he is also studying the cognitive risks posed by chronic alcohol drinking during adolescence.
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.
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.
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.
Yeager, Mark J.
uses high resolution electron cryo-microscopy and image analysis to explore the architecture of supramolecular assemblies, such as transmembrane signaling proteins and channels (integrins, gap junction channels, and aquaporins) and viruses responsible for significant human disease (rotaviruses, astroviruses, and retroviruses).
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.
