The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Faculty, A–Z


Anne Baranger, Professor

Bioorganic basis of RNA-protein recognition; recognition of non-helical RNA structures by peptides and small molecules; design of RNA-protein complexes using the RRM domain; small molecule control of RNA-protein complexes

Lin-Feng Chen, Assistant Professor

Epigenetic regulation of NF-κB; the role of NF-κB in apoptosis and cancer; cross-talk between NF-κB and other signaling pathways.

Robert M. Clegg, Professor

Multifarious molecular structures, conformational changes, thermodynamic stabilities, and functions of nucleic acids and protein–nucleic acid complexes

H. Edward Conrad, Professor Emeritus

Structure, metabolism, and biological activities of heparin and heparan sulfate

Antony R. Crofts, Professor Emeritus

Structure–function relationships in photosynthetic energy conversion; structure of membrane proteins; mechanism of energy conservation; photosynthesis in intact plants; energetics of the biosphere

John E. Cronan, Jr., Alumni Professor and Head of Microbiology

Biosynthesis, regulation, and function of membrane lipids and fatty acid-derived coenzymes

Rutilio A. Fratti, Assistant Professor

Membrane microdomain assembly and membrane fusion

Robert B. Gennis, Professor and Henry E. Preble Chair

Membrane enzymes involved in energy transduction; electron transport chains in E. coli and Rb sphaeroides

John A. Gerlt, Professor and Gutsell Chair

Mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed reactions; functional genomics; directed evolution and rational design of "new" enzymes

Michael Glaser, Professor Emeritus

Growth factor and hormone regulation of myelin synthesis; membrane domains and signal transduction

Govindjee, Professor Emeritus

Oxygenic photosynthesis, history of photosynthesis research, and photosynthesis education

Taekjip Ha, Professor

Developing and using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and nano-mechanical manipulation tools for molecular biophysics research

Lowell P. Hager, Professor Emeritus and Member, National Academy of Sciences

Oxidative enzyme mechanisms and protein chemistry

Paul J. Hergenrother, Associate Professor

Using small molecules to modulate programmed cell death; identification and use of compounds with novel anticancer, antineurodegenerative, and antibacterial properties

Raven H. Huang, Associate Professor

Functional and structural characterization of protein enzymes involved in RNA modification and editing, site-specific RNA cleavage, and RNA repair

Eric Jakobsson, Professor Emeritus and Director, National Center for Biomimetic Nanoconductors

Computational studies of biological membranes: the physical and chemical bases of life at the interface

Neil L. Kelleher, Professor

Enzymology and "top down" proteomics: translating the high performance of Fourier-transform mass spectrometry into biological insight

David M. Kranz, Professor and Philip A. Sharp Professor

Structure, function, and engineering of T-cell receptors; molecular basis of immune recognition and autoimmune diseases; tumor targeting with bispecific agents

Deborah E. Leckband, Professor

Molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion; cell engineering

Yi Lu, Professor

Protein design and engineering; in vitro selection and characterization of new catalytic DNA and RNA molecules as antiviral pharmaceutical agents or as metal ion biosensors

Susan A. Martinis, Professor and Interim Head of Biochemistry

RNA structure and function, RNA-protein interactions, chemical mechanisms of biological reactions, protein synthesis, tRNA synthetases

James H. Morrissey, Professor

Regulation of protease cascades; structure–function analysis of protein-phospholipid interactions and how they contribute to catalysis

Satish K. Nair, Associate Professor

X-ray crystallography, gene regulation, DNA-protein interactions

George W. Ordal, Professor Emeritus

Investigation of the molecular basis of excitation and adaptation during chemotactic sensory transduction in bacteria

Chad M. Rienstra, Assistant Professor

Solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR), including the development of new pulse sequence methodology and instrumentation, and application to studies of protein structure and dynamics

Mary A. Schuler, Professor

Molecular biology, biochemistry and genomics: pre-mRNA processing and P450 monooxygenases

Bradford S. Schwartz, Professor and Regional Dean, College of Medicine

Regulation of the initiating steps of protease cascades

David J. Shapiro, Professor

Estrogen action: from gene transcription and mRNA metabolism to inflammation, apoptosis and immune surveillance

Scott K. Silverman, Associate Professor

DNA as an enzyme; DNA as a structural constraint; DNA as a sensor component

Stephen G. Sligar, Director of the School of MCB, I.C. Gunsalus Professor of Biochemistry, University Scholar

Structural and functional characterization of macromolecular assemblies and the enzymes of biological oxidations, nanoscale systems for human therapeutics, genome–proteome analysis, macromolecular signaling and the biological details of cell migration.

Maria Spies, Assistant Professor

Biochemical mechanisms and function of DNA helicases and DNA motor proteins; mechanistic aspects of protein–nucleic acids and protein–protein interactions; homologous genetic recombination; DNA repair; molecular motors

M. Ashley Spies, Research Assistant Professor

Enzyme mechanisms; kinetic isotope effects; kinetics; origins of enzyme catalytic power; bioorganic chemistry; amino acid racemases and epimerases; pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) chemistry and enzymology

Robert L. Switzer, Professor Emeritus

Regulation of bacterial gene expression by transcriptional attenuation

Emad Tajkhorshid, Assistant Professor

Computational studies of membrane channels and transporters

Wilfred A. van der Donk, Professor

The understanding of enzymatic transformations that are of pharmaceutical importance

Colin A. Wraight, Professor

Electron and proton transfer in proteins and across membranes; biological energy conversion; control of redox cofactor function; molecular engineering of ligand-protein interactions

Huimin Zhao, Centennial Endowed Chair Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Bioengineering

Synthetic biology; protein engineering; metabolic engineering; biocatalysis; biosynthesis