Biochemistry

Sep. 2, 2019

Xiaoqin Zou

The molecular interactions that drive ligand-protein binding are a key to quantitatively understanding the basis of molecular recognition and to designing therapeutic interventions through rational drug design. Drug molecules usually act by binding to specific target proteins. Drug candidates that have high binding affinities can be identified by their geometric and chemical complementarity to the target in a process analogous to solving a “jigsaw puzzle”, if the target structure is known. An energy model that can give rapid and accurate evaluation of the molecular interaction strength is thus essential for selecting plausible candidate compounds from a chemical database consisting of…

Sep. 2, 2019

Shi-jie Chen

Education BS Physics Zhejiang University China PhD Physics University of California, San Diego San Diego, Calif. Research Area Prediction of RNA structure and functions and computational design of RNA-based therapeutic strategies. Research Description We develop computer models for biomolecular structure and function with focus on RNA molecules. Biological molecules are large organic molecules composed of hundreds or thousands of atoms bound together by covalent bonds into a chain-like structure. One of the best known challenges in biology is to understand how biomolecules fold properly into compact structures to perform biological functions and how they misfold to cause disease. We develop…

Feb. 20, 2019

Bill Folk

Educational background Ph.D. Biochemistry, Stanford University Courses taught School of Medicine Preclinical Courses Honors College Colloquia Undergraduate Research Courses…

Aug. 24, 2017

Peter V. Cornish

Research in our laboratory is primarily focused on understanding the complexities of ribosome function using a variety of biophysical methods including NMR and single molecule techniques. One of our projects is in understanding translational regulation in particular the mechanism of recoding where the ribosome shifts reading frame due to the presence of specific structures within the mRNA. Recoding has been observed in all forms of life and has been shown to be essential for the viability of many viruses including HIV-1 and SARS coronavirus. We are also contributing to the ongoing effort of developing antiviral small molecules that specifically target…

Aug. 24, 2017

Donald H. Burke

Education BAChemistry and BiologyUniversity of KansasLawrence, Kan.PhDMolecular Biology/BiochemistryUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeley, Calif. Research Areas Ribozyme mechanism and evolution and the origin of life; antiviral nucleic acid aptamers and the molecular basis of drug resistant HIV-1. Research Description Whether we are thinking about the Origin of Life, about the Molecular mechanisms of Viral Pathogenesis, or about RNA-based therapeutics, three kinds of questions underly our work: 1) What can nucleic acids do? 2) How do their sequences and structures relate to their ability to do it? and 3) Can we engineer new biologies by expressing artificial RNAs in cells? Most of the…

Jan. 6, 2017

Shari Freyermuth

Education background Ph.D., Duke University B.S., University of Georgia…