CBI-Training Program Faculty

During their first semester on campus, CBI trainees rotate through at least three faculty laboratories in order to explore options and opportunities for their doctoral training. CBI faculty are drawn from the six CBI departments – all have active research programs that span the chemistry-biology interface. CBI students joining their labs will be welcomed as full members of the research team, participating in their faculty mentor’s research as they develop their skills and master techniques appropriate to the tasks-at-hand. As trainees progress towards independence, they will design and carry out their own research projects with guidance from their mentor.

Name	Research Interests
Ryan C. Bailey Assistant Professor of Chemistry	High-throughput bioanalytical chemistry; genomic and proteomic analysis of single cells; surface chemical approaches to studying disease-altered cell adhesion
Anne M. Baranger Associate Professor of Chemistry	RNA recognition, RNA-protein complexes, design of RNA-binding proteins, peptides, and small molecules
Steven Blanke Associate Professor of Microbiology	Infectious disease: host remodeling mechanisms; antibiotic action; bacterial toxin cellular entry and membrane translocation; bacterial virulence factors as machines; anthrax; Helicobacter pylori; Campylobacter jejuni, pathogen modulation of the eukaryotic cell cycle.
Martin D. Burke Assistant Professor of Chemistry	Synthesis and study of small molecules with protein-like functions
Isaac K. O. Cann Associate Professor of Microbiology and Animal Science	Characterization of DNA polymerases and DNA binding proteins in Archaea; applying insights gained to understand the more complex eukaryotic replication machinery.
John E. Cronan Professor of Microbiology	Genetic approaches to regulation of lipid metabolism; metabolic function of protein-lipid interactions; lipoic acid synthesis and attachment
Rutilio A. Fratti Assistant Professor of Biochemistry	Vesicle fusion and its orchestration by phosphoinositide signalling and protein-lipid interactions
Julia M. George Assistant Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology	Protein misfolding in neurodegenerative disease; nanovectors for drug delivery to the brain
John A. Gerlt Professor of Biochemistry	Mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed reactions, evolution of new catalytic activities, functional genomics
Paul J. Hergenrother Associate Professor of Chemistry	Using combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening to identify small molecular modulators of apopotosis; synthesis and activity of novel antibacterial agents
Raven H. Huang Associate Professor of Biochemistry	Structural studies of protein-RNA interactions; tRNA modification and cleavage; design of HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors
James A. Imlay Professor of Microbiology	Molecular mechanisms of oxidative damage; cellular defenses against oxidants; obligate anaerobiosis.
John A. Katzenellebogen Professor of Chemistry	Combinatorial chemistry; synthesis; steroid receptor structure and function; designed inhibition of protein-protein interactions; radiopharmaceuticals; tumor imaging
Neil L. Kelleher Associate Professor of Chemistry	Mass spectrometry, proteomics, enzymology of polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases
Mary L. Kraft Assistant Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering	Membrane biophysics; chemical imaging approaches to visualize cell membrane organization; elucidate how cell membrane structure and composition relates to disease progression.
David M. Kranz Professor of Biochemistry	Engineering proteins involved in immunity
Deborah E. Leckband Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	Chemistry of biological adhesion, single molecule nanomechanics, membrane biophysics, proteins at membrane interfaces
Yi Lu Professor of Chemistry	Protein design and engineering; biocatalysis; new catalytic DNA and RNA as anti-viral agents and as metal biosensors
Zaida Luthey-Schulten Professor of Chemistry	Protein tertiary structure prediction; protein-protein-RNA interactions; kinetics of protein folding
Todd J. Martínez Professor of Chemistry	First-principles quantum molecular dynamics, function and engineering of photoactive proteins, photodamage and repair of DNA
Susan A. Martinis Associate Professor of Biochemistry	Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, protein synthesis fidelity, RNA-protein interactions, RNA splicing
William M. Metcalf Professor of Microbiology	Molecular genetics and biochemistry of methanogenic Archaea; redox cycling of phosphorus by microorganisms
Craig A. Mizzen Assistant Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology	Posttranslational modifications of chromatin proteins; dysregulation of nuclear signaling pathways in cancer
Satish K. Nair Associate Professor of Biochemistry	Studies of protein structure using X-ray crystallography
Peter A. B. Orlean Professor of Microbiology	Glycobiology; glycosyltransferases; cell wall biogenesis in yeast and pathogenic fungi; antifungal drug targets
Daniel W. Pack Associate Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering	Design and synthesis of polymers for gene delivery; hybrid virus/polymer gene vectors; controlled-release drug delivery; brain drug delivery
Christopher V. Rao Assistant Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering	Intracellular networks; bioinformatics and comparative genomics; transcriptional regulation
Thomas B. Rauchfuss Professor of Chemistry	Biomimetic catalysis; synthesis of metalloenzyme cofactors
Chad M. Rienstra Assistant Professor of Chemistry	Structural and functional studies of aggregated and membrane proteins involved in neurodegenerative disease, cancer and coronary artery disease; development of solid-state NMR pulse sequences, data analysis algorithms and instrumentation
Mary A. Schuler Professor of Cell & Structural Biology	Molecular modeling and transcriptional regulation of plant and insect P450 monooxygenases; plant pre-mRNA splicing; functional genomics of Arabidoposis P450s
Scott K. Silverman Associate Professor of Chemistry	DNA as a catalyst; DNA as a nanoscale structural constraint; sensors made out of DNA/RNA; RNA structure, folding, and catalysis
Stephen G. Sligar Professor of Biochemistry	Proteomics, genomics and chemical mechanism of oxygenases; receptors, signaling, membrane proteins
Maria Spies Assistant Professor of Biochemistry	Biochemical mechanisms and function of DNA helicases and DNA motor proteins; protein-nucleic acids and protein-protein interactions; homologous genetic recombination; DNA repair; molecular motors
Kenneth S. Suslick Professor of Chemistry	Protein microspheres for medical imaging and drug delivery; ultra-sound heme proteins and synthetic analogs; peptide-metal complexes
Jonathan V. Sweedler Professor of Chemistry	Analytical neurochemistry; dynamic studies of subcellular neurotransmitter distribution and release; ultra-trace neurotransmitter analysis
Wilfred A. van der Donk Professor of Chemistry	Enzyme engineering; organic synthesis; design and synthesis of novel antibiotics; biochemistry of xenobiotics
Brenda A. Wilson Associate Professor of Microbiology	Bacterial protein toxins, their interaction with host cells, and their effects on intracellular signal transduction
Huimin Zhao Associate Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering	Protein design, metabolic engineering, biocatalysis, biosynthesis of natural products, proteomics