Structural Biology Current research interests of the faculty include signal transduction proteins, molecular chaperone proteins, several enzymes of biological and medical importance, proteins involved in transmembrane transport, and components of the bacterial secretion apparatus. The focus of the research activities is on understanding the biological functions of these proteins in terms of their atomic structures, as well as their kinetic and thermodynamic properties. A special emphasis of the program is on the determination of protein structures by X-ray crystallography. Joint Program with Chemistry Department The Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Chemistry sponsor a joint program of graduate study emphasizing the chemical nature of biological processes and chemical approaches to biological questions. Students may earn a PH.D. in either Biological Sciences or Chemistry under this program, which is funded by a training grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Laboratory rotations are available in either department.
When appropriate, dual sponsorship of graduate research is possible. Opportunities for research under this program exist in diverse areas involving the interface between chemistry and biology. These include molecular modeling, bio-organic chemistry, enzymology, protein structure, DNA and chromatin structure, molecular genetics, RNA metabolism, cell biology, and neurobiology. The goal of this training program is to provide graduate-level instruction in chemical approaches to contemporary problems in the biological sciences. The design and synthesis of functional active site analogues of metalloenzymes and the effects of metal complexes on the structure and function of biological molecules.