James Bamburg - Professor
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
The cytoskeleton and neurodegenerative disease
Role of the actin cytoskeleton in neuronal growth and regeneration, pathfinding, and in neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer disease. Signal transduction mechanisms controlling actin filament dynamics and cell behavior.

Chaoping Chen - Associate Professor
Ph.D., Purdue University
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.

Robert Cohen - Senior Research Scientist/Joint Faculty, Professor
Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley
Recognition and metabolism of polyubiquitin protein modifications
Molecular recognition and protein-protein interactions as applied to ubiquitin biochemistry and ubiquitin-proteasome mediated protein degradation.

Norman Curthoys - Professor
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Renal Response to Metabolic Acidosis
Proteomic Analysis; mechanism of mRNA stabilization; structure of mitochondrial glutaminase.

Jennifer DeLuca - Associate 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.

Santiago Di Pietro - Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Buenos Aires
Molecular Mechanisms of Intracellular Protein Transport
The goal of this laboratory is to understand the molecular bases of human diseases that affect the biogenesis of intracellular organelles as well as the endocytic process.

Jeffrey Hansen - 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.

P. Shing Ho - 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. More recently, we have been developing both nucleic acid and protein model systems to characterize a set of interactions called halogen bonds, which contribute significantly to the specificity and affinity of large classes of halogenated ligands used as inhibitors and as drugs. We apply crystallographic, molecular modeling, and physical biochemical approaches to study these problems.

Paul Laybourn - 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.

Karolin Luger - 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.

Brian McNaughton - Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ph.D., University of Rochester
Macromolecular evolution and engineering, targeted delivery of protein therapies and imaging reagents
Development of new macromolecular therapeutics and targeted therapeutic delivery systems. Toward this end, researchers in my lab employ a diverse experimental platform, which includes protein engineering, protein evolution, phage display and selection, analysis of protein delivery and function in mammalian cell culture and in vivo, and biophysical analysis of protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions.

Jennifer Nyborg - 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.

Olve Peersen - 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.

Jessica Prenni - Joint Faculty, Assistant Professor, Director Of Proteomic & Metabolomics Facility
Ph.D., University of Colorado
Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomics and Metabolomics
Proteomics and Metabolomics are fields of scientific study which combine techniques in purification and separation, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. In our lab we utilize these tools for the identification and characterization of proteins and small molecules in a variety of biological systems.

Eric Ross - Associate Professor & Associate Chair for Graduate Studies
Ph.D., Mayo Graduate School
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.

Laurie Stargell - Professor & Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies
Ph.D., University of Rochester
Mechanisms of Gene Expression in Yeast
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 functions of the transcription machinery in the chromatin context of living cells.

Michael Tamkun - Joint Faculty, 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.

Tingting Yao - Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Iowa
Regulation of Gene Expression and Chromatin Dynamics by Ubiquitin Conjugation & Deconjugation
Our lab studies the interface between the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and transcriptional regulation. Modification of components of the transcription machinery by ubiquitin can serve as a regulatory switch that both activate and limit gene expression. We are using a variety of biochemical and genetic approaches to define the molecular mechanisms that underlie these seemingly opposite processes.