Biochemistry & Biophysics

Department's website

Department Faculty listed by research area

Biochemistry and Biophysics investigates life processes at the molecular level, using the methods of chemistry and physics. Major research programs in the department, conducted by the fourteen regular and two emeritus faculty members, include: crystallographic structural analysis of nucleic acids and proteins; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis of protein-nucleic acid interactions and of protein and nucleic acid structures; rapid kinetic analysis of enzyme reaction mechanisms and neurotransmitter-receptor interactions; molecular mechanisms in signal transduction; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease); protein-protein interactions in metabolic regulation; DNA replication and its coordination with DNA precursor metabolism; nucleotide and coenzyme metabolism; genetic regulation of the cell cycle; protein phosphorylation and the control of energy metabolism; antioxidant compounds and their effects on human health and aging; biochemical control of cell pigmentation; biochemistry of cell aging; DNA damage, mutagenesis, DNA repair, and carcinogenesis; neuronal development in mammals; epigenetic control of gene expression; computational biology.

The department maintains strong research ties with other departments and research centers on campus. Three faculty members in the department hold their primary appointments in the Linus Pauling Institute, and one in the department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology. Most of the faculty are members of the Center for Genomic Research and Biocomputing, and about half are Center Investigators in the Environmental Health. Fifteen faculty members in other departments hold adjunct appointments in Biochemistry and Biophysics, allowing them to supervise research students in the department.

Although the principal focus of the department is basic research, members of the faculty are involved as collaborators or consultants with faculty and students in applied and health related life science units, as well as in other basic science departments. Close research relationships are maintained with faculty in Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Food Science and Technology, Animal Sciences, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine, as well as in other departments in the College of Science