Faculty Directory
| Bamburg, James - Professor |
| Ph.D., University of Wisconsin |
| Regulation of Cell Behavior Through Cytoskeletal Dynamics |
| Role of the cytoskeleton in neuronal growth and regeneration, pathfinding, and in neurodegenerative diseases. Signal transduction mechanisms controlling actin filament dynamics and cell behavior. |
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| Chen, Chaoping - Assistant Professor |
| Ph.D., Purdue University, 1999 |
| Molecular and Cell Biology of Retrovirus Assembly and Budding |
| Role of the actin cytoskeleton in retrovirus trafficking and mechanisms of the host cell-virus interactions attributed to virus assembly and budding. |
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| Curthoys, Norman - Professor |
| Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley |
| Renal Response to Metabolic Acidosis |
| Proteomic Analysis; mechanism of mRNA stabilization; structure of mitochondrial glutaminase. |
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| DeLuca, Jennifer G. - Assistant Professor |
| Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Mechanisms of Mitotic Chromosome Segregation |
| Our research focuses on understanding how accurate chromosome segregation is achieved in mitosis. We are analyzing the molecular architecture of the kinetochore-microtubule interface in vertebrate cells and studying how proteins and protein complexes at this interface drive and regulate chromosome movements. |
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| Hansen, Jeffrey C. - Professor |
| Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Higher Order Chromatin Structure and Chromatin Architectural Proteins |
| Our research is focused on elucidating the structure/function relationships of the chromatin fiber. My laboratory has pioneered the use of analytical ultracentrifugation and quantitative agarose gel electrophoresis to yield unique information about the secondary and tertiary structures of chromatin fibers, and the architectural chromatin binding proteins that modulate these structures in solution. |
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| Ho, P. Shing - Professor & Chair |
| Ph.D., Northwestern University |
| Nucleic acid structure and function, X-ray crystallography |
| The research interests in our laboratory focus on the structures and structural gymnastics of nucleic acids. Both DNA and RNA are induced to various biologically interesting and functional conformations resulting from perturbations in the environment, drug interactions, and protein binding. We have been studying these effects by crystallography, molecular modeling, and biochemistry. |
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| Ishii, Douglas - Professor of Physiology |
| Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine |
| Molecular Mechanisms of the Insulin-Like Growth Factors |
| We are interested in the molecular mechanism by which the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) hormones contribute to the development of the nervous system, and to nerve regeneration. Also, we are studying the cause of diabetic neuropathy. |
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| Laybourn, Paul J - Professor |
| Ph.D., University of California, Davis |
| The Mechanism of Eukaryotic Transcriptional Regulation in a Chromatin Context |
| We are using the promoters of human retrovirus HTLV-1 LTR and the yeast PHO5 gene as models in these studies. We are employing both in vivo (genetic, molecular genetic), and in vitro (biochemical) approaches. We are particularly interested in the role of eukaryotic gene expression dysregulation in cancer. |
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| Luger, Karolin - University Distinguished Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator |
| Ph.D., University of Basel |
| Structure and function of eukaryotic chromatin |
| A combination of X-ray crystallography and other biochemical and biophysical approaches is used to analyze the structure and function of large macromolecular complexes involved in DNA compaction, and in transcription regulation in a chromatin context. |
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| Nyborg, Jennifer K. - Professor |
| Ph.D., University of California, Riverside |
| Transcriptional Deregulation in Leukemia Cells |
| During the last several years, the human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) has become increasingly recognized as an important cause for public health concern throughout the world. HTLV-I is the causative agent of a variety of clinical diseases, including an aggressive and fatal cancer called adult T-cell leukemia, and a neurological disorder that is clinically very similar to multiple sclerosis. A large body of evidence suggests that the clinical manifestations of HTLV-I infection occur as a consequence of a virally-encoded protein called Tax. My laboratory focuses on defining the intracellular consequences of Tax expression in the infected human cell, with emphasis on the Tax-dependent events that lead to malignant transformation. |
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| Paule, Marvin - Professor |
| Ph.D., University of California, Davis |
| Growth Regulation of Ribosomal RNA Expression in Normal and Cancer Cells |
| Up to 85% of all transcription in cancerous and other rapidly growing cells is for ribosome elaboration. Indeed, progression to cancerous growth requires misregulation of rRNA transcription. Numerous tumor suppressors (retinoblastoma protein, p53, p300, CBP) target regulation of rRNA expression, and many known tumor promoting viruses (human papilloma virus, the cause of most uterine cancers, SV40) disrupt this regulation. Controlling rRNA transcription controls cellular growth rate. We are studying initiation and regulation of the polymerase I and III transcribed ribosomal genes, with an emphasis on the fundamental mechanisms of each stage of the process. Our long term aim is to develop therapies targeting the most fundamental step in neoplasia. |
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| Peersen, Olve - Associate Professor |
| Ph.D., Yale University |
| Structure of Picornaviral Replication Complexes |
| The picornaviruses are a family of small positive sense single stranded RNA viruses that cause a wide range of diseases in humans and animals. These include the rhinoviruses that cause the common cold and poliovirus, the prototypical member of this family. We are interested in understanding the molecular details of picornaviral replication and are using structural biology and biophysical techniques to determine the structure of viral proteins and study their interactions. |
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| Ross, Eric D. - Assistant Professor |
| Ph.D., Mayo Graduate School, 2001 |
| Yeast prions as a model for amyloid diseases |
| Numerous diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are associated with protein misfolding into ordered aggregates, called amyloid fibrils. We are using yeast prions as a model system for examining the causes and consequences of amyloid fibril formation. |
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| Stargell, Laurie - Associate Professor & Associate Chair |
| Ph.D., University of Rochester |
| Mechanisms of Transcription Initiation in Yeast: The Role TBP and TFIIA in Regulated Expression |
| Transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II involves a highly regulated series of events dependent upon many protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. By combining yeast genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysical techniques, we are using a multi-faceted approach to understand the functional requirements of the general transcription factors in transcription initiation in vivo. |
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| Tamkun, Michael - Professor of Physiology |
| Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle |
| Regulation of Muscle Electrical Excitability at Both the Cellular and Molecular Levels |
| The long-term objective of the Tamkun laboratory is to understand the regulation of muscle electrical excitability at both the cellular and molecular levels. Research in the lab revolves around five general themes:
(1) cloning of new ion channels from cardiac and vascular muscle (2) identification of channel domains involved in protein-protein interactions, (3) examination of the signaling mechanisms/cellular processes that control ion channel function and tissue/cell-specific expression, ( 4) characterization of mechanisms responsible for channel cell surface localization, and (5) elucidation of the physiological role that a given channel plays within a particular tissue. |
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| Woody, Robert - Professor |
| Ph. D., University of California, Berkeley |
| Biomolecular Spectroscopy |
| We study the structure of proteins and how proteins fold, using spectroscopic methods: absorption, circular dichroism, fluorescence, nuclear magnetic resonance. We are also developing methods to predict the circular dichroism of proteins from structures obtained by X-ray diffraction or NMR, and ultimately from molecular modeling and structure prediction methods. |
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