Program in Cell and Molecular Biology

Alphabetical listing of faculty

Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
You can skip quickly down this list by choosing one of the letters below: A B C D E F G H,I J K L M N O P,Q R S T,U V W,X Y Z
Alejandro Aballay	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Innate Immunity and Microbial Pathogenesis
Soman Abraham	Professor of Pathology	Mechanisms and consequences of the molecular interactions occurring between pathogenic bacteria and inflammatory cells.
Hubert Amrein	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Role and function of roX RNAs in Drosophila dosage compensation and functional analysis of Drosophila odorant receptor proteins
Vadim Arshavsky	Professor of Neurobiology	Signal transduction in vertebrate rod and cone photoreceptors.
Maki Asano	Assistant Research Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Regulation of DNA replication and the cell cycle.
George Augustine	George Barth Gellar Professor of Neurobiology	Neuronal signaling pathways; molecular mechanisms of synaptic exocytosis and plasticity.
Michael Been	Professor of Biochemistry	Hepatitis Delta Virus Self-cleaving RNA.
Lorena Beese	Professor of Biochemistry	Structure and mechanism of proteins and macromolecular assemblies central to DNA replication, DNA repair, and cellular signaling. X-ray crystallography. Structure-based drug design. Cancer biology.
Amy Bejsovec	Associate Professor of Biology	Specification of cell fates during Drosophila development, the role of intercellular signaling in pattern formation and oncogenic processes.
Philip Benfey	Professor of Biology	Plant Developmental Genetics and Genomics
Vann Bennett	James B. Duke Professor of Cell Biology	Membrane-cytoskeletal interactions in mammalian brain and other tissues.
Darrell Bigner	Professor of Pathology	Neuropathology; viral oncology; chemical carcinogenesis.
Perry Blackshear	Professor of Biochemistry	Messenger RNA turnover in cytokine biosynthesis; protein kinase C and brain development.
Gerard Blobe	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Cancer biology, vascular biology, signal transduction, TGF-beta signaling pathway, cellular trafficking
Celia Bonaventura	Professor of Cell Biology at the Nicholas School of the Environment	Cell Biology: Equilibria & Reaction Kinetics in Red Cells & Hemoglobins. Biochemistry: Structure- Function Relationships in Respiratory Proteins. Structural Biology: Protein Dynamics & Protein Engineering
Rose-Mary Boustany	Professor of Neurobiology	Mechanisms of apoptosis in neurodegeneration and cancer.
Nicole Calakos	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular basis of synaptic plasticity; presynaptic function; basal ganglia function and pathology.
Blanche Capel	Professor of Cell Biology	Sex determination; ovary and testis organogenesis; germ cell biology; vascular development.
Maria Cardenas-Corona	Associate Research Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Mechanisms of Signaling by the targets of rapamycin: the TOR kinases.
Marc Caron	Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular mechanisms of hormone and neurotransmitter actions and regulation of cellular responsiveness.
Patrick Casey	James B. Duke Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Cellular signalling mediated through GTP-binding proteins; lipid modifications of proteins.
Jen-Tsan Ashley Chi	Assistant Professor f Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Genomic approaches to analyze biological systems and disease
Dona Chikaraishi	Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular regulation of catecholamine neurotransmitter biosynthesis and function.
Christopher Counter	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Molecular mechanism of tumorigenesis.
Gregory Crawford	Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genomics	Genome-wide identification and characterization of gene regulatory elements
Bryan Cullen	Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Molecular genetics of HIV gene regulation.
Michael B. Datto	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Mechanisms of cell type specific and context dependent TGF-β Signal Transduction.
Fred Dietrich	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Genetics and Genomics of fungal pathogens and of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Xinnian Dong	Professor of Biology	Response of plants to pathogens; molecular and genetic investigation of the signal transduction pathways activating plant defense genes.
Michael Ehlers	Associate Professor of Neurobiology	Protein trafficking and turnover in neuronal dendrites; Cell biology of the postsynaptic membrane; Molecular regulation of excitatory synaptic transmission.
Sharyn Endow	Professor of Cell Biology	Microtubule motor proteins involved in spindle function; chromosome movement in meiosis and mitosis.
Harold Erickson	Professor of Cell Biology	Cytoskeleton and cell motility in eukaryotes and bacteria; cell adhesion and extracellular matrix.
Guoping Feng	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular mechanisms regulating synapse formation; synaptic and circuitry basis of behavior and its implications in neuropsychiatric disorders.
Paulo Ferreira	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Molecular, genetic and cellular basis of neurodystrophies and allied systemic disorders; dynamic assembly of protein complexes in signaling and trafficking pathways.
Rodney Folz	Assistant Research Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular and cellular biology of oxidant and antioxidant systems with an emphasis on extracellular compartments and lung biology / physiology.
Mariano Garcia-Blanco	Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Synthesis and maturation of messenger RNAs in the nucleus of cells.
Arno Greenleaf	Professor of Biochemistry	Enzymology of gene expression: 1) CTD kinase and RNA polymerase II hyperphosphorylation; 2) PhosphoCTD-associating proteins and organization of nuclear functions.
Matthias Gromeier	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Translation Control, Internal Ribosomal Entry, Virology, Vaccine Development, Neuro-Oncology, Cancer, Therapeutics, Oncolytic Viruses, Hepatitis C Virus.
Steve Haase	Assistant Professor of Biology	Genetic, genomic, molecular, and cellular approaches to understanding cell cycle regulation in yeast. Cyclin dependent kinase control of centrosome duplication.
Laura Hale	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Thymic biology. Immune function in normal aging, cancer, and autoimmunity.
Barton Haynes	Professor of Immunology	Study of human T cell maturation and thymus biology; biology of human retroviruses; autoimmune disease.
You-Wen He	Associate Professor of Immunology	T lymphocyte development and apoptosis. Innate immune response. T lymphocyte memory formation.
Joseph Heitman	James B. Duke Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Signaling cascades regulating filamentous growth and virulence of yeast and pathogenic fungi. Genetic analysis of immunosuppressive drug action.
Homme Hellinga	Professor of Biochemistry	Combined theoretical and experimental approaches to protein and drug design; molecular simulation; protein engineering.
Michael Hershfield	Professor of Biochemistry	Genetic and biochemical studies of inherited diseases of purine metabolism.
Brigid Hogan	Professor of Cell Biology	Mammalian development and organogenesis; primordial germ cells and stem cells.
Tao-shih Hsieh	Professor of Biochemistry	Chromosome structure and function; structure, function, and mechanism of DNA topoisomerase.
Randy Jirtle	Professor of Pathology	Epigenetic basis of human disease.
William Kane	Associate Professor of Pathology	Molecular biology of blood coagulation factor V and thrombosisT. Structure, function and regulation of the prothrombinase complex.
Jack Keene	Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Functions of RNA-binding proteins in coordinating the global regulation of gene expression during homeostasis and disease.
Daniel Kenan	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Tumor vascular biology, regulation of gene expression, tissue engineering.
Daniel Kiehart	Professor of Biology	Mechanism and regulation of cellular movements and shape changes during metazoan development (morphogenesis).
John Klingensmith	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular genetics of mammalian development and birth defects.
Motonari Kondo	Assistant Professor of Immunology	Commitment of hematopoietic stem cells, lymphocyte development, cytokine receptor signaling.
Sally Kornbluth	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Regulation of apoptosis and control of mitotic entry.
Michael Krangel	Professor of Immunology	V(D)J recombination; chromatin structure; developmental regulation of T cell receptor genes.
Virginia Kraus	Associate Professor of Pathology	Molecular pathogenesis of arthritis; genetics of osteoarthritis; metalloproteinases.
William Kraus	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Skeletal muscle gene regulation in exercise physiology and disease. In vivo (human and animals) and in vitro work. Human genetics.
Ken Kreuzer	Professor of Biochemistry	Mechanisms of DNA replication, recombination and repair, and the interconnections between these processes.
Meta Kuehn	Associate Professor of Biochemistry	Biochemical and genetic analysis of secretory outer membrane vesicles produced by pathogenic bacteria.
Cynthia Kuhn	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Gonadal steroid action in the brain.
Madan Kwatra	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Signal transduction through G Protein-coupled receptors; aging.
Terry Lechler	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Development and morphogenesis of two highly proliferative tissues, the skin and the intestine.
Robert Lefkowitz	James B. Duke Professor of Neurobiology	Elucidation of the molecular properties and regulatory mechanisms controlling the function of G protein-coupled receptors.
Daniel Lew	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Cell cycle control and the control of cell polarity.
Wolfgang Liedtke	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular mechanisms of neuro-sensory transduction in response to osmotic and mechanical stimuli.
Elwood Linney	Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Molecular approaches to retinoic acid and estrogen signaling during zebrafish embryonic development; 3D immaging of gene expression; environmental biosensing using embryos.
Donald Lo	Associate Professor of Neurobiology	Translation of basic neuroscience research into the identification new drug candidates and targets for neuropsychiatric diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, stroke, and glaucoma.
Micah Luftig	Assistant Professor, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Mechanisms of viral oncogenesis and host response to oncogenic virus infection
David MacAlpine	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Genomic approaches to understanding how the molecular architecture of the chromosome regulates DNA replication.
Douglas Marchuk	Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Molecular genetics and cell biology of inherited human disease, with particular emphasis on the cardiovascular system.
Jeffrey Marks	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Investigation of the etiology and progression of breast and ovarian cancer.
Hiroaki Matsunami	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Molecular mechanisms underlying odorant and pheromone recognition in mammals
David McClay	Arthur S. Pearse Professor of Biology	Germ layer specification, gene regulatory networks, adhesion at gastrulation, and patterning cues during morphogenesis.
John McCusker	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Genetic and molecular analysis of fungal pathogenesis.
Donald McDonnell	Glaxo Wellcome Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	The progesterone, estrogen and androgen receptor signaling pathways are complex and provide a wealth of opportunities for new drug discovery.
Thomas McIntosh	Professor of Cell Biology	Membrane structure; membrane rafts; peptide-lipid interactions.
James McNamara	Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular mechanisms of epileptogenesis.
Anthony Means	Nanaline H. Duke Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Intracellular signaling pathways that affect cell cycle progression; calcium receptor functions.
Thomas Mitchell	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Medical mycology; molecular mechanism of fungal pathogenesis; populaiton genetics of pathogenic yeasts.
Paul Modrich	James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry	Mechanisms of DNA repair and recombination; DNA repair defects in tumor development and drug resistance.
Richard Mooney	Associate Professor of Neurobiology	Neural mechanisms of learning and memory, especially the regulation at the cellular level for learned vocalizations in songbirds.
Joseph Nevins	James B. Duke Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Gene regulation during cell growth and oncogenesis.
Christopher Nicchitta	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Protein and mRNA trafficking. Chaperone immunobiology.
R. Bruce Nicklas	Arthur S. Pearse Professor of Biology	Chromosome movement in mitosis.
Terrence Oas	Associate Professor of Biochemistry	Protein folding; folding-related determinants of protein function, statistical mechanical modelling of conformational transitions, ribonucleoprotein assembly.
Edward Patz	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Development of new molecular diagnostics including protein biomarkers and molecular imaging approaches.
Thomas Petes	Professor and Chair of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Genetic regulation of genome stability in yeast; meiotic recombination
Zhen-Ming Pei	Assistant Professor of Biology	Calcium and nitric oxide signaling in Arabidopsis.
Ann Marie Pendergast	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Role of tyrosine kinases and associated adaptor proteins in the regulation of normal development and pathological conditions, including cancer, bacterial pathogenesis, muscular dystrophies, and immune deficiencies.
David Pickup	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Molecular mechanisms of viral pathogenesis, particularly viral modification of host cytokine-responses to infection.
Salvatore Pizzo	Professor of Pathology	Fibrinolysis; antigen presentation; proteinase inhibitors.
Kenneth Poss	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Modeling disease and regeneration in zebrafish.
Christian Raetz	George B. Geller Professor of Biochemistry	Membrane biochemistry; molecular genetics and bioinformatics of lipid synthesis; structure, biosynthesis and function of bacterial endotoxins; structural lipidomics.
Jeffrey Rathmell	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Molecular and metabolic mechanisms of lymphocyte growth and apoptosis.
Tannishtha Reya	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Self-renewal and Commitment.
Jeremy Rich	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Signal transduction in brain tumors. The contribution of cancer stem cells to therapeutic resistance.
David Richardson	Professor of Biochemistry	X-ray crystallography of globular proteins; design of protein structure.
Jane Richardson	Professor of Biochemistry	Patterns of protein folding; X-ray crystallography; design of protein structure.
Sue Robertson	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Regulation of genome stability in yeast; homologous recombination and mutagenesis.
Howard Rockman	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular mechanisms of hypertrophy and heart failure using transgenic and gene targeted mouse models.
Laura Rusche	Assistant Professor of Biochemistry	Chromatin-mediated repression of transcription.
Marcella Sarzotti-Kelsoe	Assistant Research Professor of Immunology	The manipulation of immune responses to virus in the neonatal susceptible host which can induce long-lasting immunity.
Fred Schachat	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular biology of contractile protein expression and function.
Patrick C. Seed	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Elucidating the Molecular Pathogenesis of Urinary Tract Infections.
Greg Sempowski	Assistant Research Professor of Pathology	Mechanisms that regulate T cell production and peripheral homeostasis. Development of novel therapeutics to improve T cell immune recovery and function.
David Sherwood	Assistant Professor of Biology	Genetic and molecular analysis of cell-invasion in C. elegans
James Siedow	Professor of Biology	Biochemical & molecular studies of oxidative processes in plants using the cyanide-resistant, alternative oxidase associated with plant mitochodria; effect of the fungal phytotoxins on the structure and permeability of mitochondrial membranes.
Sidney Simon	Professor of Neurobiology	Mechanisms of chemical induced pain, inflammation and taste; molecular peptide-lipid interactions.
J.H. Pate Skene	Associate Professor of Neurobiology	Neuronal development and axon growth; regulation of transcription; protein palmitoylation as a regulatory mechanism.
Theodore Slotkin	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Developmental neurobiology, neuropharmacology and neurotoxicology.
Scott Soderling	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Signaling mechanisms that regulate cell migration, neurite outgrowth, synapse formation, animal behavior; roles of Rho GTPase Activating Proteins in signaling to the actin cytoskeleton.
Leonard Spicer	Professor of Biochemistry	Structure-function studies of proteins using high field NMR techniques; Biophysical characterization of the MetJ transcription regulation complex and the excision nuclease, DNA repair assembly.
Herman Staats	Associate Professor of Pathology	Identifying and characterizing novel mucosal adjuvants and their mechanism of action, defining the mechanisms that control the specificity of vaccine-induced serum igg and mucosal iga, and optimizing nasal immunization in non-human primates.
Deborah Steege	Professor of Biochemistry	Posttranscriptional control; translational regulation and coupling; mRNA processing and decay.
Joseph W. St. Geme	Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Molecular and cellular determinants of bacterial pathogenesis, bacterial adherence and invasion, bacterial protein secretion, Haemophilus and Kingella pathogenicity, vaccine development.
Bruce Sullenger	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Development of RNA-based therapeutics.
Beth Sullivan	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Epigenetic/epigenomic mechanisms of chromosome structure and function, centromere and heterochromatin organization, and genome stability.
Tai-ping Sun	Professor of Biology	Molecular genetics of plant growth hormones; environmental and developmental regulation of gibberellin biosynthesis and signal transduction.
Thomas Tedder	Alter Geller Professor of Immunology	Structure and function of human leukocyte adhesion molecules; B lymphocyte activation.
Dennis Thiele	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Molecular biology and genetics of iron and copper in growth and development; stress gene expression in diseases of protein folding.
Daniel Tracey	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Isolation of genes required for sensory processing: touch detection (mechanotransduction), heat detection (thermotransduction), processing of RNA in neuronal dendrites, animal behavior, nociception.
Raphael Valdivia	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Endosome dynamics and microbial pathgenesis.
Antonius VanDongen	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Physiological regulation and structure/function relationships of ion channels.
Steven Vigna	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Gastrointestinal hormones and neuropeptides.
Rytas Vilgalys	Professor of Biology	Phylogenetic biology and natural history of fungi, including molecular phylogeny and population genetics of medically important species.
Fan Wang	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Neural circuit development in mouse somatic sensory system.
Xiao-Fan Wang	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	TGF-ß signaling mechanisms and animal model systems; Tumor angiogenesis and metastasis; DNA damage checkpoint.
Robert Wechsler-Reya	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Role of Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Neural Development and Cancer.
Anne E. West	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Activity-dependent Synapse Development
Robin Wharton	Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Molecular mechanism of pattern formation in the Drosophila embryo.
A. Richard Whorton	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Biochemistry and pharmacology of nitric oxide; cellular redox staus and nitric oxide mediated cell signalling.
Fulton Wong	Professor of Neurobiology	Cellular mechanisms of retinal degeneration.
Jo Rae Wright	Professor of Cell Biology	Innate host defense in the lung. Mechanisms of pathogen subversion of lung host defense.
Tso-Pang Yao	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Functional dissection of the role of protein acetylation and deacetylation in signal transduction pathways, particularly in the context of cancer formation.
Hai Yan	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Cancer genomics; Pathways that control tumorigenesis
Yiping Yang	Assistant Professor of Immunology	Innate immunity to viruses, Immune suppression by regulatory T cells and Formation of long-lived memory T cells.
John York	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Nuclear Inositol Signaling, Phosphatase Regulation of Inositol Lipid Messengers, and Lithium Pharmacology.
Michael Zalutsky	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Endoradiotherapeutics.
Weiguo Zhang	Assistant Professor of Immunology	Antigen receptor-mediated signaling; Lymphocyte development; Mast cell function
Pei Zhou	Assistant Professor of Biochemistry	Biomolecular NMR; Protein Interactions; Molecular Recognition; Conformation variability.
Yuan Zhuang	Associate Professor of Immunology	Transcriptional regulation of lymphocyte differentiation and development. Animal models for autoimmune diseases.
You can skip quickly up this list by choosing one of the letters below: A B C D E F G H,I J K L M N O P,Q R S T,U V W,X Y Z