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