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NameEmailPhD ProgramResearch InterestPublications
Drewry, David H
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Pharmaceutical Sciences

RESEARCH INTEREST
Cancer Biology, Chemical Biology, Drug Discovery, Pharmacology, Structural Biology

The Drewry lab is focused on designing, synthesizing, evaluating, and sharing small molecule chemical probes for protein kinases. These tools are used to build a deeper understanding of disease pathways and facilitate identification of important targets for drug discovery. Through wide ranging partnerships with academic and industrial groups, the Drewry lab is building a Kinase Chemogenomic Set (KCGS) that is available to the community for screening.

Baker, Rick
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Biochemistry & Biophysics

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Cancer Biology, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology

Our lab is interested in the mechanisms of membrane trafficking in eukaryotic cells. Using a combination of biochemistry, in vitro reconstitution, and structural biology, we seek to understand how protein complexes assemble to bend and perturb membranes during vesicle budding (endocytosis) and vesicle fusion (exocytosis). Our group also specializes in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and we use semi-native substrates (nanodiscs, liposomes) to visualize complexes engaged with the membrane.

Brown, Nicholas
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Pharmacology

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Cancer Biology, Pharmacology, Structural Biology

Our research group uses several biochemical and structural techniques (e.g. enzyme assays, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-EM) to understand how molecular machines drive the cell cycle. Dysregulation of these enzymes results in numerous cancer types.

Williams, David C. Jr.
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Pathobiology & Translational Science

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Cancer Biology, Drug Discovery, Structural Biology

The overall objective of our research is to understand the connection between structure of protein-DNA complexes, protein dynamics and function.  We currently focus on the methyl-cytosine binding domain (MBD) family of DNA binding proteins.  The MBD proteins selectively recognize methylated CpG dinucleotides and regulate gene expression critical for both normal development and carcinogenesis.  We use a combination of NMR spectroscopy and biophysical analyses to study protein-DNA and protein-protein complexes involving the MBD proteins.  Building on these studies, we are developing inhibitors of complex formation as potential molecular therapeutics for b-hemoglobinopathies and cancer.

Liu, Jian
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Pharmaceutical Sciences

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology

The overall goal of our research is to develop an enzyme-based approach to synthesize heparin- and heparan sulfate-like therapeutics.  The lab is currently focusing on improving the anticoagulant efficacy of heparin drug as well as synthesizing heparin-like compounds that inhibit herpes simplex virus infections.  We are also interested in using protein and metabolic engineering approaches for preparing polysaccharides with unique biological functions.

McGinty, Robert
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Biochemistry & Biophysics, Pharmaceutical Sciences

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Chemical Biology, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology

The McGinty lab uses structural biology, protein chemistry, biochemistry, and proteomics to study epigenetic signaling through chromatin in health and disease. Chromatin displays an extraordinary diversity of chemical modifications that choreograph gene expression, DNA replication, and DNA repair – misregeulation of which leads to human diseases, especially cancer. We prepare designer chromatin containing specific combinations of histone post-translational modifications. When paired with X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, this allows us to interrogate mechanisms underlying epigenetic signaling at atomic resolution.

Griffith, Jack
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Biochemistry & Biophysics, Genetics & Molecular Biology, Microbiology & Immunology

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, Virology

We are interested in basic DNA-protein interactions as related to – DNA replication, DNA repair and telomere function.  We utilize a combination of state of the art molecular and biochemical methods together with high resolution electron microscopes.

Erie, Dorothy
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Chemistry

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Genetics, Molecular Medicine, Structural Biology

The research in my lab is divided into two main areas – 1) Atomic force microscopy and fluorescence studies of protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, and 2) Mechanistic studies of transcription elongation. My research spans the biochemical, biophysical, and analytical regimes.

Clemmons, David R.
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Biochemistry & Biophysics

RESEARCH INTEREST
Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Medicine, Pathology, Physiology, Structural Biology, Systems Biology

Cross-talk between insulin like growth factor -1 and cell adhesion receptors in the regulation of cardiovascular diseases and complications associated with diabetes.

Carter, Charles
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS

PHD PROGRAM
Biochemistry & Biophysics, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Biophysics, Computational Biology, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology

Molecular evolution and mechanistic enzymology find powerful synergy in our study of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, which translate the genetic code. Class I Tryptophanyl-tRNA Synthetase stores free energy as conformational strain imposed by long-range, interactions on the minimal catalytic domain (MCD) when it binds ATP. We study how this allostery works using X-ray crystallography, bioinformatics, molecular dynamics, enzyme kinetics, and thermodynamics. As coding sequences for class I and II MCDs have significant complementarity, we also pursuing their sense/antisense ancestry. Member of the Molecular & Cellular Biophysics Training Program.