Program in Cell and Molecular Biology

Faculty listed by department

Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
You can skip quickly down this list by choosing a department name below: Biochemistry, Biology, Cell Biology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Neurobiology, NSOE, Pathology, Pharmacology
Biochemistry
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.
Perry Blackshear	Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry	Protein phosphorylation and biosynthesis in the action of hormones and cell growth.
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.
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.
Tao-shih Hsieh	Professor of Biochemistry	Chromosome structure and function; structure, function, and mechanism of DNA topoisomerase.
Ken Kreuzer	Professor of Biochemistry	Mechanisms of DNA replication, recombination and repair, and the interconnections between these processes.
Meta Kuehn	Assistant Professor of Biochemistry	Biochemical and genetic analysis of secretory membrane vesicles produced by pathogenic bacteria.
Robert Lefkowitz	James B. Duke Professor of Neurobiology	Elucidation of the molecular properties and regulatory mechanisms controlling the function of G protein-coupled receptors.
Paul Modrich	James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry	Mechanisms of DNA repair and recombination; DNA repair defects in tumor development and drug resistance.
Terrence Oas	Associate Professor of Biochemistry	Protein folding; folding-related determinants of protein function, statistical mechanical modelling of conformational transitions, ribonucleoprotein assembly.
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.
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.
Laura Rusche	Assistant Professor of Biochemistry	Formation and function of repressive chromatin.
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.
Deborah Steege	Professor of Biochemistry	Posttranscriptional control; translational regulation and coupling; mRNA processing and decay.
Pei Zhou	Assistant Professor of Biochemistry	Protein interactions in neuro-degenerative disease; molecular recognition and conformation switch during the assembly of PGC-1 transcription complex.
Biology
Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
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.
Xinnian Dong	Professor of Biology	Response of plants to pathogens; molecularand genetic investigation of the signal transduction pathways activating plant defense genes.
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.
Daniel Kiehart	Professor of Biology	Mechanism and regulation of cellular movements and shape changes during metazoan development (morphogenesis).
David McClay	Arthur S. Pearse Professor of Biology	Germ layer specification, gene regulatory networks, adhesion at gastrulation, and patterning cues during morphogenesis.
R. Bruce Nicklas	Arthur S. Pearse Professor of Biology	Chromosome movement in mitosis.
Zhen-Ming Pei	Assistant Professor of Biology	Calcium and nitric oxide signaling in Arabidopsis.
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.
Tai-ping Sun	Associate Professor of Biology	Molecular genetics of plant growth hormones; environmental and developmental regulation of gibberellin biosynthesis and signal transduction.
Rytas Vilgalys	Professor of Biology	Phylogenetic biology and natural history of fungi, including molecular phylogeny and population genetics of medically important species.
Cell Biology
Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
Vann Bennett	James B. Duke Professor of Cell Biology	Membrane-cytoskeletal interactions in mammalian brain and other tissues.
Blanche Capel	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Sex determination; ovary and testis organogenesis; germ cell biology; vascular development.
Marc Caron	Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular mechanisms of hormone and neurotransmitter actions and regulation of cellular responsiveness.
Sharyn Endow	Professor of Cell Biology	Microtubule motor proteins involoved 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.
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.
Brigid Hogan	Professor of Cell Biology	Mammalian development and organogenesis; primordial germ cells and stem cells.
John Klingensmith	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular genetics of mammalian development and birth defects.
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.
Terry Lechler	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Development and morphogenesis of two highly proliferative tissues, the skin and the intestine.
Thomas McIntosh	Professor of Cell Biology	Membrane structure; membrane rafts; peptide-lipid interactions.
Erik Meyers	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Genetic signals that pattern the early verterbrate embryo with emphasis on cardiovascular and neural development as they relate to congenital malformations.
Christopher Nicchitta	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Protein and mRNA trafficking. Chaperone immunobiology.
Kenneth Poss	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Modeling disease and regeneration in zebrafish.
Howard Rockman	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular mechanisms of hypertrophy and heart failure using transgenic and gene targeted mouse models.
Fred Schachat	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Molecular biology of contractile protein expression and function.
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.
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.
Steven Vigna	Associate Professor of Cell Biology	Gastrointestinal hormones and neuropeptides.
Fan Wang	Assistant Professor of Cell Biology	Neural circuit development in mouse somatic sensory system.
Jo Rae Wright	Professor of Cell Biology	Pulmonary physiology; surfactant biochemistry.
Immunology
Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
Barton Haynes	Professor of Immunology	Study of human T cell maturation and thymus biology; biology of human retroviruses; autoimmune disease.
You-Wen He	Assistant Professor of Immunology	T lymphocyte development and apoptosis. Innate immune response. T lymphocyte memory formation.
Motonari Kondo	Assistant Professor of Immunology	Commitment of hematopoietic stem cells, lymphocyte development, cytokine receptor signaling.
Michael Krangel	Professor of Immunology	V(D)J recombination; chromatin structure; developmental regulation of T cell receptor genes.
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.
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.
Thomas Tedder	Alter Geller Professor of Immunology	Structure and function of human leukocyte adhesion molecules; B lymphocyte activation.
Weiguo Zhang	Assistant Professor of Immunology	Antigen receptor-mediated signaling; Lymphocyte development; Mast cell function
Yuan Zhuang	Associate Professor of Immunology	Transcriptional regulation of lymphocyte differentiation and development. Animal models for autoimmune diseases.
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
Alejandro Aballay	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Innate Immunity and Microbial Pathogenesis.
Hubert Amrein	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Genetic control and the molecular mechanisms of dosage compensation in Drosophila.
Maki Asano	Assistant Research Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Regulation of DNA replication and the cell cycle.
Maria Cardenas-Corona	Associate Research Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Mechanisms of Signaling by the targets of rapamycin: the TOR kinases.
Jen-Tsan Ashley Chi	Assistant Professor f Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Genomic approaches to analyze biological systems and disease
Bryan Cullen	Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Molecular genetics of HIV gene regulation.
Fred Dietrich	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Genetics and Genomics of fungal pathogens and of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
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.
Mariano Garcia-Blanco	Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Synthesis and maturation of messenger RNAs in the nucleus of cells.
Matthias Gromeier	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Translation Control, Internal Ribosomal Entry, Virology, Vaccine Development, Neuro-Oncology, Cancer, Therapeutics, Oncolytic Viruses, Hepatitis C Virus.
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.
Jack Keene	Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Functions of RNA-binding proteins in coordinating the global regulation of gene expression during homeostasis and disease.
Elwood Linney	Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Molecular approaches to retinoic acid and estrogen signaling during zebrafish embryonic development; 3D imaging of gene expression; environmental biosensing using embryos.
Douglas Marchuk	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Molecular genetics and cell biology of inherited human disease, with particular emphasis on the cardiovascular system.
Hiroaki Matsunami	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Molecular mechanisms underlying odorant and pheromone recognition in mammals
John McCusker	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Genetic and molecular analysis of fungal pathogenesis.
Thomas Mitchell	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Medical mycology; molecular mechanism of fungal pathogenesis; population genetics of pathogenic yeasts.
Joseph Nevins	James B. Duke Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Gene regulation during cell growth and oncogenesis.
Thomas Petes	Professor and Chair of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Genetic regulation of genome stability in yeast; meiotic recombination
David Pickup	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Molecular mechanisms of viral pathogenesis, particularly viral modification of host cytokine-responses to infection.
Sue Robertson	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Regulation of genome stability in yeast; homologous recombination and mutagenesis.
Patrick C. Seed	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Elucidating the Molecular Pathogenesis of Urinary Tract Infections.
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 and 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.
Raphael Valdivia	Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology	Endosome dynamics and microbial pathgenesis.
Robin Wharton	Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology	Molecular mechanism of pattern formation in the Drosophila embryo.
Neurobiology
Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
Vadim Arshavsky	Professor of Neurobiology	Signal transduction in vertebrate rod and cone photoreceptors.
George Augustine	George Barth Gellar Professor of Neurobiology	Neuronal signaling pathways; molecular mechanisms of synaptic exocytosis and plasticity.
Rose-Mary Boustany	Associate Professor of Neurobiology	Study of neurodegenerative diseases and the delineation of the apoptotic pathway in neurons of the central nervous system.
Nicole Calakos	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular basis of synaptic plasticity; presynaptic function; basal ganglia function and pathology.
Dona Chikaraishi	Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular regulation of catecholamine neurotransmitter biosynthesis and function.
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.
Guoping Feng	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular mechanisms regulating the formation, stability and plasticity of synapses.
Wolfgang Liedtke	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular mechanisms of neuro-sensory transduction in response to osmotic and mechanical stimuli.
Donald Lo	Associate Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular approaches to retinoic acid and estrogen signaling during zebrafish embryonic development; 3D immaging of gene expression; environmental biosensing using embryos.
James McNamara	Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular mechanisms of epileptogenesis.
Richard Mooney	Associate Professor of Neurobiology	Neural mechanisms of learning and memory, especially the regulation at the cellular level for learned vocalizations in songbirds.
Jeremy Rich	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Signal transduction in brain tumors. The contribution of cancer stem cells to therapeutic resistance.
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.
Anne E. West	Assistant Professor of Neurobiology	Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Activity-dependent Synapse Development
Fulton Wong	Professor of Neurobiology	Cellular mechanisms of retinal degeneration.
The Nicholas School of the Environment
Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
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.
Pathology
Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
Soman Abraham	Professor of Pathology	Mechanisms and consequences of the molecular interactions occurring between pathogenic bacteria and inflammatory cells.
Darrell Bigner	Professor of Pathology	Neuropathology; viral oncology; chemical carcinogenesis.
Michael B. Datto	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Mechanisms of cell type specific and context dependent TGF-β Signal Transduction.
Laura Hale	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Thymic biology. Immune function in normal aging, cancer, and autoimmunity.
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.
Daniel Kenan	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Tumor vascular biology, regulation of gene expression, tissue engineering.
Virginia Kraus	Associate Professor of Pathology	Molecular pathogenesis of arthritis; genetics of osteoarthritis; metalloproteinases.
Jeffrey Marks	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Investigation of the etiology and progression of breast and ovarian cancer.
Salvatore Pizzo	Professor of Pathology	Fibrinolysis; antigen presentation; proteinase inhibitors.
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.
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.
Hai Yan	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Cancer genomics; Pathways that control tumorigenesis
Michael Zalutsky	Assistant Professor of Pathology	Endoradiotherapeutics
Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
Faculty Name	Primary Research Department	Brief Research Description
Gerard Blobe	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	The role of transforming growth factor beta in cancer biology and vascular biology.
Patrick Casey	James B. Duke Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Cellular signalling mediated through GTP-binding proteins; lipid modifications of proteins.
Christopher Counter	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Molecular mechanism of tumorigenesis.
Sally Kornbluth	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Regulation of apoptosis and control of mitotic entry.
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.
Daniel Lew	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Cell cycle control and the control of cell polarity.
David MacAlpine	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Genomic approaches to understanding how the molecular architecture of the chromosome regulates DNA replication.
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.
Anthony Means	Nanaline H. Duke Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Intracellular signalling pathways that affect cell cycle progression; calcium receptor functions.
Edward Patz	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Development of new molecular diagnostics including protein biomarkers and molecular imaging approaches.
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.
Jeffrey Rathmell	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Molecular and metabolic mechanisms of lymphocyte growth and apoptosis.
Tannishtha Reya	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Self-renewal and Commitment.
Theodore Slotkin	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Developmental neurobiology, neuropharmacology and neurotoxicology.
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.
Antonius VanDongen	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Physiological regulation and structure/function relationships of ion channels.
Xiao-Fan Wang	Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Structure and function of TGF-b receptors; growth regulation by TGF-b.
Robert Wechsler-Reya	Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Role of Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Neural Development and Cancer.
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.
Tso-Pang Yao	Assistant 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.
John York	Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology	Nuclear Inositol Signaling, Phosphatase Regulation of Inositol Lipid Messengers, and Lithium Pharmacology.
You can skip quickly up this list by choosing a department name below: Biochemistry, Biology, Cell Biology, Immunology Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Neurobiology, NSOE, Pathology, Pharmacology