Structural Biology
and Molecular
Biophysics

FACULTY
  • P. Bryant Chase  
    Biomechanics of cardiac and skeletal muscle.
  • Jonathan H. Dennis  
    The biology of chromatin involved in the innate immune response.
  • W. Ross Ellington  
    Structure, function, and evolution of enzymes.
  • Debra A. Fadool  
    Olfactory signal transduction; ion channel structure-function; neuromodulation. 
  • Peter Fajer  
    Muscle contraction; structure-function of proteins; cellular physiology.
  • Betty Jean Gaffney  
    Magnetic resonance of proteins, lipid mediator mechanisms, metal ion regulation.
  • Laura R. Keller  
    Molecular genetics; signal transduction and regulation of gene expression.
  • Thomas C.S. Keller, III  
    Cell and molecular biology of the cytoskeleton; cytoskeleton regulation and energetics.
  • Steven Lenhert  
    Lipid membranes; cell-surface interactions; bionanotechnology.
  • Thomas M. Roberts  
    Cell motility and the cytoskeleton.
  • Kenneth H. Roux  
    3-D electron microscopy of AIDS viruses; immunochemistry and structural analysis of food allergens; immunochemistry and structural analysis of antibodies.
  • M. Elizabeth Stroupe  
    3-D electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography of protein complexes involved in mRNA and sulfur metabolism.
  • Paul Q. Trombley 
    Olfaction; synaptic physiology and plasticity; ion channel modulation.
  • Kenneth A. Taylor  
    Macromolecular structure determination by 3-D electron microscopy; muscle, cytoskeleton and cell adhesion structure.

The primary research focus of this group is the elucidation of the 3-dimensional structures, functional properties, and assemblages of biological macromolecules using biophysical techniques (e.g. X-ray crystallography, cryoelectron microscopy, electron diffraction, computational modeling, EPR and NMR spectroscopy). This research effort is part of the interdepartmental Structural Biology Program, which is based in the Institute of Molecular Biophysics. Additional research areas of faculty in this group include radiation biology, NMR imaging & cellular diffusion measurements, membrane biophysics, and molecular/cell biology. Students have access to a variety of superb research facilities housed in the Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Department of Biological Science, and the nearby National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.Graduate training in Structural Biology also is available through the Molecular Biophysics Program