Viewed broadly, the research focus of the Field of BMCB is to uncover the fundamental chemical, biochemical, molecular biological, and cell biological principles that govern all forms of life.
Research programs in the Field of BMCB are often multidisciplinary, aiming to provide quantitative and mechanistic understanding of the fundamental processes common to all cells and organisms.
BMCB research labs can be loosely associated with the following research themes, but bear in mind that many labs can fit more than one of these research themes for their cross-disciplinary research foci and approaches.
Research Areas
Students focusing in Molecular and Cell Biology share a common interest in understanding the synthesis, structure, and function of macromolecules and how biomolecules are organized into cells and specialized tissues. Sophisticated choreography of gene expression programs is fundamental to all aspects of life and is also the basis of epigenetic inheritance. BMCB laboratories investigate the mechanistic basis of gene regulation, from transcription to RNA processing and translation, and how gene regulatory programs intersect with fundamental biological processes. BMCB laboratories also work to investigate the function and regulation of the organization of eukaryotic cells, including the intricate and dynamic network of movement between membrane bound organelles. BMCB laboratories also study host-microbe interactions, including elucidating the structure and function of the microbes and microbial proteins, as well as investigating the cellular pathways and immune responses that enable the hosts to respond to microbes appropriately. Studies in these areas employ diverse models and a wide range of classical and contemporary approaches, including cell biological, single molecule and quantitative microscopic, genetic, biochemical, genomic, and computational strategies.
Research Area Faculty
Carolyn Adler, Assistant Research Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: planarian flatworms regenerate entire animals by activation of pluripotent stem cells; how stem cells respond to injuries and restore missing organs.
Eric Alani, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Understanding how DNA mismatch repair proteins act in repair and genetic recombination
Barbara Baird, Horace White Professor, Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Research Interests: Structures and molecular mechanisms of cell surface receptors operative in immune responses
Joeva Barrow, Assistant Professor, Human Ecology: Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: mitochondrial biology and metabolism & disease; unbiased CRISPR and small molecule screening for novel therapy targets
Jeremy Baskin, Associate Professor and Nancy and Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences, Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Research Interests: Chemical biology and cell biology of lipid signaling
Daniel Berry, Assistant Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: Our laboratory focuses on understanding adipose tissue biology and systemic metabolism by studying adipose stem cells (ASC). We specifically examine ASC dynamics, the ASC niche, and the role of ASCs in white adipose tissue development, homeostasis, obesogenic expansion and thermogenesis.
Ilana Brito, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Human microbiome; horizontal gene transfer; antibiotic resistance; microbial transmission
Sarah Caddy, Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Virus-antibody interactions; antigen presentation
Richard Cerione, Goldwin Smith Professor, Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Signal transduction; growth factor receptors
Pamela Chang, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Host-microbe interactions, gut microbiome, microbiology, and immunology
Andrew Clark, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Population genetics, evolutionary genomics, genetics of complex traits
Paula Cohen, Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Molecular regulation of meiotic recombination and crossing over in the mouse
Ruth Collins, Associate Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Mechanism of action of Rab GTPases
Benjamin Cosgrove, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: cellular systems bioengineering approaches; cell communication and signaling networks regulating muscle stem cell function and tissue regeneration in aging and disease
Brian Crane, George W. and Grace L. Todd Professor; Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Research Interests: understanding interactions among proteins, electrons, and photons
Charles Danko, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences, Baker Institute for Animal Health
Research Interests: Gene expression, transcriptional regulation, enhancers, promoters, non-coding DNA
Arunika Das, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: epigenetic mechanisms that preserve genome integrity in the female germline and embryo; how specialized histones are inherited through embryo reprogramming, and how they evade age related decay in eggs using cell biology, and imaging.
Matthew DeLisa, William L. Lewis Professor of Engineering, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Research Interests: applied immunology; glycobiology and glycoengineering; protein biogenesis; protein engineering; synthetic biology
Iwijn De Vlaminck, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: development of precision medicine technologies for microbiology and immunology
Tobias Doerr, Assistant Professor, Microbiology
Research Interests: Bacterial cell envelope biology, stress responses, antibiotic tolerance
Anushka Dongre, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: We work at the interface of cancer biology and immunology with a focus on understanding how cancer cell-intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulate anti-tumor immunity and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapies in the context of breast cancers.
Scott Emr, Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Cell signaling and membrane dynamics
Jacquelyn Evans, Assistant Professor, Baker Institute for Animal Health, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: the genetic basis of complex diseases in dogs as models for human disease, including cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Thomas Fox, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Mitochondrial genes; nuclear gene regulation
Chris Fromme, Professor; Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Biochemical, structural and cell biological investigations of how cells regulate protein and membrane traffic
Martin Graef, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of autophagy; multidisciplinary; genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry in budding yeast and mammalian cell culture.
Andrew Grimson, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: post-transcriptional gene regulation; experimental and computational genomics; traditional experimental approaches; mechanistic and in vivo studies of post-transcriptional regulation.
Laura Gunn, Assistant Professor; Integrative Plant Sciences
Research Interests: sequence-structure-function of nature’s carbon-fixing enzyme, Rubisco; structural biology, synthetic biology and protein engineering
Chun Han, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: The Han lab aims to uncover core principles of dendrite morphogenesis and neurodegeneration using Drosophila as an in vivo model system. To achieve this goal, we develop and apply novel genetic and cell biological technologies in Drosophila.
Maureen Hanson, Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: causes of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; gene expression, immune cell function, proteomics, metabolomics, and statistical and computational tools.
John Helmann, Professor, Microbiology
Research Interests: Regulation of gene expression; enzymology of RNA polymerase
Gunther Hollopeter, Assistant Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Use of C. elegans to study the endocytic machinery
Fenghua Hu, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Molecular and Cellular mechanism of neurodegeneration; Protein homeostasis; Lysosome biology; Inflammation; Cell signaling
Lori Huberman, Assistant Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science: Plant Pathology & Plant Microbe Biology
Research Interests: We use and develop genetic and genomic tools to identify and characterize the genetic pathways regulating how fungi sense and respond to their environment.
Saki Ichikawa, Assistant Professor; Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: post-translational modifications in human biology; cell signaling, metabolism, and protein homeostasis; interactions with E3 ubiquitin ligases
Shaoyi Jiang, Robert Langer ’70 Family and Friends Professor; Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: stem cells responses to chemical, biological and mechanical cues under controlled environments; mRNA delivery
Toshi Kawate, Assistant Professor; Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of extracellular signaling; membrane receptors; ion channels; X-ray crystallography; electrophysiology; biochemistry
Satoshi Kimura, Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Translation control, RNA modification, Bacterial pathogenesis, Host-microbial interactions
Alex Kwan, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Research in the Kwan lab focuses on the neurobiology of depression and psychiatric drug action. We study the molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms in the brain using optical imaging, electrophysiological, and genetic methods in mice.
Jan Lammerding, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Cellular biomechanics; mechanotransduction; mechanically induced gene expression; nuclear envelope proteins; cell migration and cancer metastasis; muscular dystrophy; heart disease
Brian Lazzaro, Professor, Entomology
Research Interests: genetics of insect-pathogen interactions; individual variation in resistance to infection; immune response in overall host physiology; natural selection on the immune system.
Sylvia Lee, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: conserved pathways that regulate aging and age-dependent pathologies; genetic, molecular, cell biological, and genomic approaches; C. elegans and mammalian cells
David Lin, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: development and degeneration of the nervous system, focusing on the mouse olfactory system
Maurine Linder, Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Regulation of signal transduction and protein trafficking by protein lipidation
John Lis, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms by which promoters and enhancers regulate gene expression; state-of-the-art genome-wide assays and analyses; interplay of chromatin architecture and transcription regulation.
Jun Kelly Liu, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Mechanisms of signal transduction (BMP signaling); cell fate diversification and differentiation of pluripotent progenitor cells in the mesoderm
Yuxin Mao, Professor; Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms of microbial-host interactions; intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila
Eirene Markenscoff-Papadimitriou, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: gene regulatory mechanisms controlling neuronal identity and function during brain development; autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders
Linda Nicholson, Professor; Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: structural and dynamics studies of proteins
Zeribe Nwosu, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: metabolic alterations that drive cancer; tumor microenvironment cells in modulating metabolism; effectively targeting metabolism to improve cancer treatment
Wojtek Pawlowski, Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science: Plant Breeding & Genetics, Plant Biology
Research Interests: Mechanisms and evolution of meiotic recombination; meiosis; evolutionary genomics
Joseph Peters, Professor, Microbiology
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of genome stability and evolution; novel transposon targeting mechanisms recognizing DNA replication and RNA-based systems utilizing CRISPR/Cas
Frank Pugh, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms of enhancer-promoter communication in humans and yeast; genome-wide ChIP-exo/seq and computational (AI) techniques; from cancer to condensates.
Shu-Bing Qian, James Jamison Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: RNA biology, translational regulation, protein quality control
Richa Sardana, Assistant Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: My laboratory studies how membrane protein trafficking and quality control mechanisms surveil the membrane proteome, and how their dysregulation results in human disease.
Frank Schroeder, Professor, Boyce Thompson Institute
Research Interests: small molecule signaling in C. elegans, mouse, and humans; host-microbe interactions; high-resolution mass spectrometry- and NMR-based metabolomics
Praveen Sethupathy, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Role of non-coding RNAs (in particular microRNAs) in genetic, microbial, dietary, and environmental control of health and disease, primarily in diabetes, dyslipidemia, gastrointestinal (GI) disorders including Crohn’s disease, and liver/GI cancers
Carolyn Sevier, Associate Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Research projects focus on how cells sense and respond to reactive oxygen species (ROS) – "oxidative stress". We use a combination of biochemistry, genetic, and cell biology techniques to characterize post-translational redox-signaling events.
Marcus Smolka, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: We study genome maintenance mechanisms using mass spectrometry technologies, genetics and biochemical approaches in yeast and mammalian systems.
Ayshwarya Subramanian, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: principles governing cellular heterogeneity, crosstalk, and evolution in the context of human tissues and disease.
Tudorita Tumbar, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Molecular control of tissue stem cells in the mouse; cell signaling; nuclear structure and function; skin morphogenesis and homeostasis
Klaas van Wijk, Professor and Chair, School of Integrative Plant Sciences
Research Interests: Chloroplast proteostasis in plants with emphasis on proteases and discovery of degrons, using a combination of protein biochemistry, mass spectrometry, systems biology and molecular biology
Meng Wang, Assistant Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: We aim to dissect how metabolism can cause DNA damage that impacts cancer development and aging, and to design novel treatments that target DNA damage pathways. We use genetic and mass spectrometry approaches in cell lines and animal models.
Robert Weiss, Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms for the maintenance of genomic stability; cellular responses to DNA damage; mouse models of human cancer.
Andrew White, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Mechanisms of cancer initiation and progression, stem cells in homeostasis and cancer, cell signaling
Gary Whittaker, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Entry of influenza and coronaviruses into host cells
Mariana Wolfner, Goldwin Smith Professor and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow , Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Functions and evolution of seminal proteins and other important reproductive molecules; Molecular genetics of the egg-to-embryo transition; Drosophila model system and the dengue-vector mosquito.
Haiyuan Yu, Professor, Computational Biology
Research Interests: Network Systems Biology, Deep learning (large language models), Molecular evolution, Statistical genetics, Mass spectrometry, Structural proteomics and protein modeling, functional genomics, protein networks, gene regulation, understanding how noncoding and coding genomic variation in disease and across populations affect gene expression, protein structure and function, and lead to complex traits.
Students focusing in Cell and Developmental Biology share a common goal to understand the nature and behavior of cells and how they work together to form complex tissues and organisms. The development and formation of a complex organism from a single zygote is one of the most fascinating processes in biology. Equally amazing is how a complex organism can repair and maintain itself through its lifetime and give rise to the next generation. BMCB laboratories use a wide range of models to study the intricate processes of tissue & organismal development, production of germ cells & reproduction, and maintenance & homeostasis of post-developmental adults. From molecules to complex biological systems, BMCB laboratories aim to understand the integration of cellular processes and the molecular basis of their regulation. Genetic, cell biological, genomic, proteomic, imaging, and behavioral approaches are routinely utilized.
Research Area Faculty
Carolyn Adler, Assistant Research Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: planarian flatworms regenerate entire animals by activation of pluripotent stem cells; how stem cells respond to injuries and restore missing organs.
Daniel Barbash, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: genetic, molecular evolutionary, and genomic studies of speciation, transposable element regulation, genome stability, and meiotic segregation; Drosophila and human genomic and polymorphism data.
Jeremy Baskin, Associate Professor and Nancy and Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences, Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Research Interests: Chemical biology and cell biology of lipid signaling
Daniel Berry, Assistant Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: Our laboratory focuses on understanding adipose tissue biology and systemic metabolism by studying adipose stem cells (ASC). We specifically examine ASC dynamics, the ASC niche, and the role of ASCs in white adipose tissue development, homeostasis, obesogenic expansion and thermogenesis.
Pamela Chang, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Host-microbe interactions, gut microbiome, microbiology, and immunology
Richard Cerione, Goldwin Smith Professor, Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Signal transduction; growth factor receptors
Paula Cohen, Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Molecular regulation of meiotic recombination and crossing over in the mouse
Benjamin Cosgrove, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: cellular systems bioengineering approaches; cell communication and signaling networks regulating muscle stem cell function and tissue regeneration in aging and disease
Arunika Das, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: epigenetic mechanisms that preserve genome integrity in the female germline and embryo; how specialized histones are inherited through embryo reprogramming, and how they evade age related decay in eggs using cell biology, and imaging.
Iwijn De Vlaminck, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: development of precision medicine technologies for microbiology and immunology
Anushka Dongre, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: We work at the interface of cancer biology and immunology with a focus on understanding how cancer cell-intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulate anti-tumor immunity and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapies in the context of breast cancers.
Scott Emr, Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Cell signaling and membrane dynamics
Chris Fromme, Professor; Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Biochemical, structural and cell biological investigations of how cells regulate protein and membrane traffic
Chun Han, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: The Han lab aims to uncover core principles of dendrite morphogenesis and neurodegeneration using Drosophila as an in vivo model system. To achieve this goal, we develop and apply novel genetic and cell biological technologies in Drosophila.
Maureen Hanson, Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: causes of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; gene expression, immune cell function, proteomics, metabolomics, and statistical and computational tools.
Gunther Hollopeter, Assistant Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Use of C. elegans to study the endocytic machinery
Fenghua Hu, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Molecular and Cellular mechanism of neurodegeneration; Protein homeostasis; Lysosome biology; Inflammation; Cell signaling
Jongmin Kim, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: developmental genetics; gene silencing mechanisms governing cell type-specific gene expression using spermatogenesis as a model
Jan Lammerding, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Cellular biomechanics; mechanotransduction; mechanically induced gene expression; nuclear envelope proteins; cell migration and cancer metastasis; muscular dystrophy; heart disease
Sylvia Lee, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: conserved pathways that regulate aging and age-dependent pathologies; genetic, molecular, cell biological, and genomic approaches; C. elegans and mammalian cells
David Lin, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: development and degeneration of the nervous system, focusing on the mouse olfactory system
John Lis, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms by which promoters and enhancers regulate gene expression; state-of-the-art genome-wide assays and analyses; interplay of chromatin architecture and transcription regulation.
Jun Kelly Liu, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Mechanisms of signal transduction (BMP signaling); cell fate diversification and differentiation of pluripotent progenitor cells in the mesoderm
Eirene Markenscoff-Papadimitriou, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: gene regulatory mechanisms controlling neuronal identity and function during brain development; autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders
Linda Nicholson, Professor; Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: structural and dynamics studies of proteins
Alex Nikitin, Professor of Pathology, Leader of Cornell Stem Cell Program, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: aberrations in mechanisms governing stem cell niches leading to cancer in the female reproductive tract, prostate and stomach; cultures, mouse modeling, and genome modifications.
Frank Pugh, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms of enhancer-promoter communication in humans and yeast; genome-wide ChIP-exo/seq and computational (AI) techniques; from cancer to condensates.
Shu-Bing Qian, James Jamison Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: RNA biology, translational regulation, protein quality control
Adrienne Roeder, Associate Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science: Plant Biology
Research Interests: Plant cell biology, plant development, morphogenesis, growth, and patterning of Arabidopsis flowers and leaves, engineered living materials
Richa Sardana, Assistant Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: My laboratory studies how membrane protein trafficking and quality control mechanisms surveil the membrane proteome, and how their dysregulation results in human disease.
Frank Schroeder, Professor, Boyce Thompson Institute
Research Interests: small molecule signaling in C. elegans, mouse, and humans; host-microbe interactions; high-resolution mass spectrometry- and NMR-based metabolomics
Ayshwarya Subramanian, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: principles governing cellular heterogeneity, crosstalk, and evolution in the context of human tissues and disease.
Tudorita Tumbar, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Molecular control of tissue stem cells in the mouse; cell signaling; nuclear structure and function; skin morphogenesis and homeostasis
Gary Whittaker, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Entry of influenza and coronaviruses into host cells
Klaas van Wijk, Professor and Chair, School of Integrative Plant Sciences
Research Interests: Chloroplast proteostasis in plants with emphasis on proteases and discovery of degrons, using a combination of protein biochemistry, mass spectrometry, systems biology and molecular biology
Meng Wang, Assistant Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: We aim to dissect how metabolism can cause DNA damage that impacts cancer development and aging, and to design novel treatments that target DNA damage pathways. We use genetic and mass spectrometry approaches in cell lines and animal models.
Robert Weiss, Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms for the maintenance of genomic stability; cellular responses to DNA damage; mouse models of human cancer.
Andrew White, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Mechanisms of cancer initiation and progression, stem cells in homeostasis and cancer, cell signaling
Mariana Wolfner, Goldwin Smith Professor and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow , Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Functions and evolution of seminal proteins and other important reproductive molecules; Molecular genetics of the egg-to-embryo transition; Drosophila model system and the dengue-vector mosquito.
Students focusing in the areas of Biochemistry and Structural Biology receive advanced training in the use of biochemical, structural, biophysical, and imaging techniques with the goal to address questions relating to the properties of macromolecules and the chemical reactions occurring within the cell. Students explore the molecular details associated with the fascinating biochemical processing within living cells, working to understand processes like the function and regulation of enzymes and metabolism, and the atomic structures of biologically important molecules that are critical to understanding the mechanistic basis for their function. BMCB laboratories investigate the function and regulation of enzymes and metabolism using biochemical, structural, cell biological, and engineering approaches. BMCB laboratories are experts in revealing previously unknown structures of important protein and RNA molecules using NMR, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-electron microscopy. Crystallographic studies at Cornell are facilitated by CHESS, Cornell’s very own synchrotron source.
Research Area Faculty
Eric Alani, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Understanding how DNA mismatch repair proteins act in repair and genetic recombination
Jeremy Baskin, Associate Professor and Nancy and Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences, Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Research Interests: Chemical biology and cell biology of lipid signaling
Ilana Brito, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Human microbiome; horizontal gene transfer; antibiotic resistance; microbial transmission
Pamela Chang, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Host-microbe interactions, gut microbiome, microbiology, and immunology
Richard Cerione, Goldwin Smith Professor, Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Signal transduction; growth factor receptors
Paula Cohen, Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Molecular regulation of meiotic recombination and crossing over in the mouse
Ruth Collins, Associate Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Mechanism of action of Rab GTPases
Brian Crane, George W. and Grace L. Todd Professor; Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Research Interests: understanding interactions among proteins, electrons, and photons
Brooks Crickard, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: single molecule imaging and genetic approaches; molecular mechanisms of chromosome maintenance and genomic stability
Matthew DeLisa, William L. Lewis Professor of Engineering, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Research Interests: applied immunology; glycobiology and glycoengineering; protein biogenesis; protein engineering; synthetic biology
Tobias Doerr, Assistant Professor, Microbiology
Research Interests: Bacterial cell envelope biology, stress responses, antibiotic tolerance
Martha Field, Assistant Professor, Human Ecology: Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: gene-nutrient-environment interactions, and molecular mechanisms, leading to pathology; folate and vitamin B12 metabolism; central/glucose metabolism
Chris Fromme, Professor; Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Biochemical, structural and cell biological investigations of how cells regulate protein and membrane traffic
Laura Gunn, Assistant Professor; Integrative Plant Sciences
Research Interests: sequence-structure-function of nature’s carbon-fixing enzyme, Rubisco; structural biology, synthetic biology and protein engineering
Chun Han, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: The Han lab aims to uncover core principles of dendrite morphogenesis and neurodegeneration using Drosophila as an in vivo model system. To achieve this goal, we develop and apply novel genetic and cell biological technologies in Drosophila.
Maureen Hanson, Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: causes of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; gene expression, immune cell function, proteomics, metabolomics, and statistical and computational tools.
John Helmann, Professor, Microbiology
Research Interests: Regulation of gene expression; enzymology of RNA polymerase
Gunther Hollopeter, Assistant Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Use of C. elegans to study the endocytic machinery
Fenghua Hu, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: Molecular and Cellular mechanism of neurodegeneration; Protein homeostasis; Lysosome biology; Inflammation; Cell signaling
Saki Ichikawa, Assistant Professor; Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: post-translational modifications in human biology; cell signaling, metabolism, and protein homeostasis; interactions with E3 ubiquitin ligases
Toshi Kawate, Assistant Professor; Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of extracellular signaling; membrane receptors; ion channels; X-ray crystallography; electrophysiology; biochemistry
Satoshi Kimura, Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Translation control, RNA modification, Bacterial pathogenesis, Host-microbial interactions
Maurine Linder, Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Regulation of signal transduction and protein trafficking by protein lipidation
John Lis, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms by which promoters and enhancers regulate gene expression; state-of-the-art genome-wide assays and analyses; interplay of chromatin architecture and transcription regulation.
Yuxin Mao, Professor; Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms of microbial-host interactions; intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila
Eirene Markenscoff-Papadimitriou, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: gene regulatory mechanisms controlling neuronal identity and function during brain development; autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders
Linda Nicholson, Professor; Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: structural and dynamics studies of proteins
Zeribe Nwosu, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: metabolic alterations that drive cancer; tumor microenvironment cells in modulating metabolism; effectively targeting metabolism to improve cancer treatment
Joseph Peters, Professor, Microbiology
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of genome stability and evolution; novel transposon targeting mechanisms recognizing DNA replication and RNA-based systems utilizing CRISPR/Cas
Frank Pugh, Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: molecular mechanisms of enhancer-promoter communication in humans and yeast; genome-wide ChIP-exo/seq and computational (AI) techniques; from cancer to condensates.
Shu-Bing Qian, James Jamison Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research Interests: RNA biology, translational regulation, protein quality control
Richa Sardana, Assistant Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: My laboratory studies how membrane protein trafficking and quality control mechanisms surveil the membrane proteome, and how their dysregulation results in human disease.
Frank Schroeder, Professor, Boyce Thompson Institute
Research Interests: small molecule signaling in C. elegans, mouse, and humans; host-microbe interactions; high-resolution mass spectrometry- and NMR-based metabolomics
Carolyn Sevier, Associate Professor, Molecular Medicine
Research Interests: Research projects focus on how cells sense and respond to reactive oxygen species (ROS) – "oxidative stress". We use a combination of biochemistry, genetic, and cell biology techniques to characterize post-translational redox-signaling events.
Marcus Smolka, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Interests: We study genome maintenance mechanisms using mass spectrometry technologies, genetics and biochemical approaches in yeast and mammalian systems.
Gary Whittaker, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Entry of influenza and coronaviruses into host cells
Klaas van Wijk, Professor and Chair, School of Integrative Plant Sciences
Research Interests: Chloroplast proteostasis in plants with emphasis on proteases and discovery of degrons, using a combination of protein biochemistry, mass spectrometry, systems biology and molecular biology
Haiyuan Yu, Professor, Computational Biology
Research Interests: Network Systems Biology, Deep learning (large language models), Molecular evolution, Statistical genetics, Mass spectrometry, Structural proteomics and protein modeling, functional genomics, protein networks, gene regulation, understanding how noncoding and coding genomic variation in disease and across populations affect gene expression, protein structure and function, and lead to complex traits.