Cellular Biochemistry
Research programs within the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are investigating how diverse biomolecules are coordinated at the cellular level. Integrative studies of isolated biomolecules in vitro and in the context of the whole cell are crucial for understanding complex cellular processes. Investigators within the Department are utilizing advanced experimental approaches to study topics including the role of proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix, molecular and cellular mechanisms of hormone action, lipid metabolism and signaling, extracellular receptors, and actin cytoskeletal organization and motors.
Crosson, Sean - Assistant ProfessorDeciphering the Structure, Function, and Topology of Microbial Signaling Systems
Dawson, Glyn - ProfessorLipid signalling pathways and progrd cell death in brain and tumors; inherited lysosomal storage diseases.
Friedmann, Herbert - Associate ProfessorBacterial enzymes; nucleotide, porphyrin, bile pigment, and corrinoid metabolism; bacterial delta-aminolevulinic acid synthesis and control.
Goldwasser, Eugene - ProfessorBiochemistry of blood cell differentiation; mode of action of erythropoietin.
Greene, Geoffrey - ProfessorSteroid hormone regulation of gene networks in reproductive tissues and cancers. Structure and function of nuclear receptors.
Haselkorn, Robert - ProfessorCellular differentiation in nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria; acetyl CoA carboxylase in plants and humans.
Keenan, Robert - Assistant ProfessorStructural biology and directed evolution.
Kovar, David - Assistant ProfessorMolecular mechanisms of actin assembly in fission yeast: molecular genetic to in vitro single filament studies.
Liao, Shutsung - ProfessorSex hormone action; mechanism of cancer progression and suppression; modulation of cholesterol, molecular aaction of herbal medicine.
Pan, Tao - Associate ProfessorRNA genomics, RNA epigenetics, RNA folding
Rock, Ronald - Assistant ProfessorMolecular motors; cytoskeletal organization; single-molecule biophysics
Roizman, Bernard - ProfessorHerpes simplex viruses, gene function and regulation, mechanisms of latent infection, vectors for gene therapy.
Scanu, Angelo - ProfessorGenetic mechanisms in dyslipoproteinemias in humans; metalloproteinases and kringle-containing proteins; proteoglycans in atherogenesis.
Schwartz, Nancy - ProfessorTranscriptional control of ECM expression during chondrogenesis and neurogenesis; regulation of sulfate activation; skeletal dysplasias.
Steck, Theodore - ProfessorMembrane cholesterol biochemistry and cholesterol homeostasis.
Steiner, Donald - ProfessorBiosynthesis and evolution of pancreatic islet hormones; protein precursor processing mechanisms; development and function of the islet alpha (glucagon) and beta (insulin) cells.