Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Faculty

Murat Acar

Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Research Interests:Systems biology, synthetic biology, gene regulatory networks, noise in gene expression, aging, evolution of gene networks.

Karen Anderson

Professor of Pharmacology and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Co-Director Therapeutics/Chemotherapy Program

Research Interests:Enzyme function; Anti-viral agents

Susan Baserga

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, of Genetics and of Therapeutic Radiology

Research Interests:Ribosome biogenesis; rRNA processing; U3 RNP structure and function; RNA helicases; Polymerase I transcription and processing

Richard Baxter

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

George Beardsley

Professor of Pediatrics

Research Interests:Biology of Osteosarcoma; Molecular enzymology of purine biosynthesis indicators for osteosarcoma; Molecular Pharmacology of anticancer and antiviral drugs which alter DNA structure; Biochemical Pharmacology of antifolate drugs; Development of novel antifolates

Joerg Bewersdorf

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and of Biomedical Engineering

Research Interests:Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy

Thomas Biederer

Associate Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Biochemistry of membrane proteins; molecular and cellular neuroscience; synapse formation

Titus Boggon

Associate Professor of Pharmacology

Research Interests:Structural biology of signal transduction

Demetrios Braddock

Associate Professor of Pathology

Research Interests:Structural biology; Hematopathology; Genitourinary Pathology

Ronald Breaker

Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Research Interests:non-coding RNA; riboswitches; ribozymes; catalytic DNA; RNA's role in evolution

Gary Brudvig

Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:photosystem II; EPR spectroscopy; metalloproteins; artificial photosynthesis

David Calderwood

Associate Professor of Pharmacology and of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Integrin; Cell adhesion; Cell migration; Cytoskeleton; Structural biology

Topher Carroll

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Epigenetics; Chromosomes; Chromatin; Gene expression; Nuclear Organization; Nuclear Membrane;

Yung-Chi Cheng

Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology
Chairman, Consortium for the Globalization of Chinese Medicine (CGCM)

Research Interests:Cancer; Viral chemotherapy; Chinese herbs; Chinese medicine

Craig Crews

Lewis B. Cullman Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Professor of Chemistry and of Pharmacology
Executive Director, Yale Molecular Discovery Center

Research Interests:Limb regeneration; wound epidermis; blastema; natural product mode of action studies; angiogenesis; Wnt signaling; protein turnover; protein kinase regulation

Enrique De La Cruz

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Cytoskeleton; RNA helicases; Kinetics; Thermodynamics; Polymer Mechanics; Processivity

Daniel DiMaio

Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Genetics and Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and of Therapeutic Radiology
Scientific Director, Yale Cancer Center
Deputy Director, Yale Cancer Center

Research Interests:Molecular Biology of Tumor Viruses; Mechanisms of Viral Carcinogenesis; Molecular Basis of Cell Growth Regulation and Senescence; Manipulating Cells and Viruses with Artificial Transmembrane Proteins; Oncogenes; Senescence ; Signal Transduction; Trans-membrane Proteins; Tumor Suppressor Genes; Virology; Virus

Barbara Ehrlich

Professor of Pharmacology and of Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Research Interests:Intracellular calcium regulation

Jonathan Ellman

Professor of Chemistry
Pharmacology

Research Interests:proteases, phosphatases, inhibitors, C-H functionalization, asymmetric amine synthesis

Donald Engelman

Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Helix Interactions; Lipid Bilayers; Membranes; Physical Biochemistry; Protein Folding; Proteins

V. Eswarakumar

Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and of Pharmacology

Research Interests:Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors (FGFRs)

Shawn Ferguson

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:lysosomes; membrane traffic; energy homeostasis; nutrient homeostasis; transcription factor; signaling; neurodegeneration; neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis; genetics

Alan Garen

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Development; Genetics; Medical Sciences; Molecular Biology

Mark Gerstein

Albert L. Williams Professor of Biomedical Informatics
Co-Director, Yale Computational biology and Bioinformatics Program

Research Interests:Biochemistry; Bioinformatics; Biophysics; Computational Biology; DNA; Genomics; Molecular Simulation; Proteins; Sequence Alignment; Structural Biology

Antonio Giraldez

Associate Professor of Genetics
Member of the Yale Cancer Center
Member of the Stem Cell Center
Director of Graduate Studies

Research Interests:Non-coding RNAs, Post-transcriptional regulation; microRNAs; Developmental Biology; Gene regulatory networks; Systems Biology; Zebrafish

Ya Ha

Associate Professor of Pharmacology

Research Interests:Membrane protein; X-ray crystallography; Enzyme mechanism

Mark Hochstrasser

Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Research Interests:Adenosinetriphosphatase; Cell Growth Regulation; Chemical Cleavage; Chemical Conjugate; Chimeric Protein; Enzyme Activity; Enzyme Complex; Enzyme Mechanism; Enzyme Structure; Fungal Genetics; Gene Deletion Mutation; Immunoelectron Microscopy; Isozyme; Mass Spectrometry; Mutant; Proteasome; Protein Degradation; Protein Purification; Proteinase; Protooncogene; Saccharomyces Cerevisiae; Transcription Factor; Ubiquitin

Michael Hodsdon

Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and of Pharmacology
Assoc. Director, Clinical Chemistry Laboratory

Research Interests:Biochemistry; Biophysics; Breast Cancer; Clinical Chemistry; Drug Metabolism; Health and Medicine; Laboratory Practice or Procedure; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance; Pathobiology; Pharmacology; Spectroscopy; Structural Biology; Toxicology

Arthur Horwich

Sterling Professor of Genetics and Professor of Pediatrics
and Investigator HHMI

Research Interests:Chaperones in protein folding; ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)

James Howe

Professor of Pharmacology

Research Interests:Glutamate receptors

Farren Isaacs

Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Research Interests:Synthetic Biology; Systems Biology; Genomics; Biotechnology

Megan King

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:microtubules; nucleus; nuclear envelope; DNA repair; cellular mechanics; telomere biology

Michael Koelle

Associate Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:C. Elegans; G Protein; Neurotransmission; RGS Protein; Serotonin; Molecular Genetics; Neurobiology; Neurotransmitters; Proteins and Macromolecules; Receptors

Anthony Koleske

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and of Neurobiology

Research Interests:Neuronal morphogenesis and degeneration; stress; schizophrenia; cell migration; cancer; metastasis; adhesion receptors

William Konigsberg

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Blood Coagulation; DNA Replication; Genetics; Proteins and Macromolecules

Richard Lifton

Sterling Professor of Genetics and Professor of Medicine (Nephrology)
Chair, Department of Genetics
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Research Interests:Molecular genetics of common human diseases

Chenxiang Lin

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Engineering DNA-nanostructure-based molecular tools for biological study

Haifan Lin

Professor of Cell Biology and of Genetics
Director, Yale Stem Cell Center

Research Interests:RNA-mediated epigenetic programming and post-transcriptional regulation of stem cells

Paul Lizardi

Professor of Pathology

Research Interests:Cancer Genetics/Epigenetics; Cancer biology; Dynamics of abnormal chromatin states in neoplasia and metastasis; DNA amplification technology (MDA, RCA); DNA microarray technology for epigenetic analysis, array-CGH; Proteomics analysis of cancer tissues

Elias Lolis

Professor of Pharmacology
Director of Graduate Studies

Research Interests:Cancer; Inflammation; Infectious disease; macromolecular X-ray crystallography; Signaling pathways; Drug design; High throughput screening (HTPS)

J Patrick Loria

Professor of Chemistry and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Protein Folding

Jun Lu

Assistant Professor of Genetics

Research Interests:Non-coding RNAs in blood stem cell differentiation and malignancies; MicroRNA-mediated control of embryonic stem cell fates; MicroRNA mechanisms

Patrick Lusk

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:nuclear pore complex; nuclear periphery; membrane proteins; chromatin structure

Malaiyalam Mariappan

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Membrane protein homeostasis; Membrane protein targeting and insertion; Membrane protein assembly; Misfolded membrane protein degradation; Biochemical reconstitution

Thomas Melia

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Macroautophagy; autophagy

I George Miller, Jr

John F. Enders Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Disease) and Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Section Chief, Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV); Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV); Tumor virology

Andrew Miranker

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Conformational changes in proteins which give rise to a special class of protein complex known as amyloid fibrils

Yorgo Modis

Associate Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Bacterial Infections; Biochemistry; Biophysics; Disease Resistance; Immune System; Immune System Disorders; Immunology; Infectious Diseases or Agents; Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Natural Processes Health Safety Medical; Pathogenesis; Receptors; Structural Biology; Structure or Function (Health or Safety or Medical); Vaccine

Nancy Moran

William H. Fleming, M.D. Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Research Interests:Symbiosis; Genomics; Evolutionary Biology; metagenomics; metabolism

Elijah Paintsil

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Disease) and of Pharmacology

Research Interests:HIV translational research; cellular pharmacology of HIV-RT inhibitors in relation to clinical toxicities; Fitness and evolution of HIV drug resistant mutants; Molecular epidemiology and dynamics of HIV/HCV transmission

Thomas Pollard

Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Professor of Cell Biology and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Research Interests:Cytokinesis; cellular motility; role of actin filaments and myosin motors

Anna Marie Pyle

William Edward Gilbert Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Professor of Chemistry
Director, Division of Biological Sciences

Research Interests:Structure and function of catalytic RNA; RNA helicase mechanisms; Computational analysis of RNA structure

Lynne Regan

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and of Chemistry

Research Interests:Mental retardation; protein-protein interactions; Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP); protein-based nanomaterials

Karin Reinisch

Associate Professor of Cell Biology

Elizabeth Rhoades

Associate Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and of Physics

Research Interests:Protein-Protein Interactions; Disordered Proteins; Protein Aggregation; Protein Folding; Fluorescence Spectroscopy

James Rothman

Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Cell Biology and Professor of Chemistry and Residential College Associate Fellow in Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Chairman, Department of Cell Biology
Director, Nanobiology Institute

Research Interests:Elucidating the underlying mechanisms of vesicular transport within cells and the secretion of hormones and neurotransmitters

Gary Rudnick

Professor of Pharmacology

Research Interests:Neurotransmitter recycling; Mechanism of membrane transport

David Schatz

Professor of Immunobiology
Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Biochemical mechanism and developmental regulation of V(D)J recombination and somatic hypermutation; lymphocyte development; mechanisms of DNA repair; function of the RAG1 and RAG2 proteins; mechanisms of lymphomagenesis

Joseph Schlessinger

William H. Prusoff Professor of Pharmacology
Chair, Pharmacology
Director, Cancer Biology Institute

Research Interests:Growth factor receptors; Intracellular signaling pathways;protein kinases; phosphorylation; SH2, SH3 and other protein modules involved in signal transduction; drug discovery

Christian Schlieker

Assistant Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Protein folding; ubiquitin; Protein quality control and its relation to viral pathogenesis

Frederick Sigworth

Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and of Biomedical Engineering

Research Interests:Cell Physiology; Electron Microscopy; Electrophysiology; Ion Channel; Mathematical Model; Patch Clamp; Potassium Channel; Protein Structure; Sodium Channel; Voltage Gated Channel; Xenopus Oocyte

Matthew Simon

Assistant Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Residential College Associate Fellow in Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Assistant Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (starting next year)

Research Interests:Chemical biology; Large non-coding RNAs; Epigenetic regulation; Histone modifications

Chuck Sindelar

Assistant Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Satinder Singh

Assistant Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Research Interests:Chemical neurotransmission; Neuropsychiatric disease; Epilepsy; Neuropharmacology; Biogenic amine; Gamma-aminobutyric acid; Neurotransmitter transporter; Antidepressant; Structural neurobiology; X-ray crystallography; Transporter kinetics

Dieter Soll

Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Professor of Chemistry

Research Interests:Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthesis; Functional Genomics; Life Science Biological; Mechanism of Translation

Mark Solomon

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Cell cycle; Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis; Anaphase-promoting Complex

Joan Steitz

Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Research Interests:Autoantibodies; Gene Expression; RNA; RNA Processing; SnRNPs; Viral Transformation

Thomas Steitz

Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Professor of Chemistry
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Research Interests:Protein Structure; Proteins and Macromolecules; Protein Nucleic Acid Complexes; X-ray Crystallography

Scott Strobel

Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Professor of Chemistry
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor
Henry Ford II Professor

Research Interests:Antibiotics; Nucleic Acid Bioorganic Chemistry; Ribosome; Ribozyme; RNA Catalysis; RNA-Protein Interaction; Translation; Riboswitches, Biofuels; Endophytes; Natural Product Discovery

William Summers

Professor of Therapeutic Radiology, in the History of Medicine and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Lecturer in History

Research Interests:History of molecular biology; Development of target theory; History of Manchurian Plague, 1910-1911

Patrick Sung

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and of Therapeutic Radiology

Research Interests:Repair of DNA double-strand breaks; repair by homologous recombination; repair by DNA end-joining

Derek Toomre

Associate Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Cell Biology; Exocytosis; Endocytosis; Membrane Traffic; Tethering; Microscopy; Live Cell Imaging; TIRFM; Single molecule

Benjamin Turk

Associate Professor of Pharmacology

Research Interests:Cell signaling; Protein kinases; Chemical biology; Proteomics; Metalloproteases; Protein engineering

Tobias Walther

Associate Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Organelle homeostasis; Plasma membrane organization; Lipid metabolism; Lipid Droplets; Eisosomes; Sphingolipid metabolism; Systematic genetics; RNAi screening; Mass-spectrometry based proteomics

Corey Wilson

Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, of Biomedical Engineering and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Sandra Wolin

Professor of Cell Biology and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Vice Chair, Department of Cell Biology

Research Interests:RNA quality control; noncoding RNAs; RNA damage; autoimmune disease

Yong Xiong

Associate Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research Interests:Innate immune systems; HIV; fatty acid synthase (FAS); polyketide synthase (PKS); Viral vectors

Elsa Yan

Associate Professor of Chemistry

Jie Yao

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Transcription regulation; chromatin; nuclear periphery; nuclear compartmentalization; protein dynamics; cellular biophysics and imaging

Yongli Zhang

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Research Interests:Single-molecule biophysics and biochemistry; optical tweezers; ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling; SNAREs; membrane fusion; dynamin; membrane fission