Biochemistry Faculty

AMANDA A. AMODEO, Ph.D.

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Amanda Amodeo

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

Office:  223 Life Sciences Center

Phone:  603-646-9926

My lab seeks to uncover how cell size, zygotic genome activation, chromatin regulation, and the cell cycle come together to regulate early development in the Drosophila embryo. We use a combination of quantitative imaging, cell biology, genetics, genomics, biochemistry, and mathematical modeling to answer questions about how cells sense fundamental biological properties such as their size and developmental stage.

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Charles K. Barlowe, Ph.D.

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Charles Barlowe

James C. Chilcott 1920 Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 414 Remsen

Phone: 603-646-5180

My research group investigates intracellular trafficking and we seek to understand the molecular mechanisms that control protein transport and quality control in the early secretory pathway. We use a multidisciplinary approach that includes biochemistry, molecular genetics, proteomics and microscopy in model systems.

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Magdalena Bezanilla, Ph.D.

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Magdalena Bezanilla

Ernest Everett Just 1907 Professor of Biological Sciences

Office: LSC 231

Phone: 603-646-2314


My research aims to understand how molecules within cells impart geometric information ultimately leading to cell shape determination. Research in my lab seeks to identify molecules within the cell that control cellular patterning. We are particularly interested in the role of regulators of the cytoskeleton and membrane trafficking and have pioneered the use of the moss Physcomitrella patens. Using the unusually rapid transgenic capabilities of moss, we are pursuing novel approaches to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying plant cell shape.

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T.Y. Chang, Ph.D.

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Ta Yuan Chang

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 304 Vail

Phone: 603-646-5183

Acyl-coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) is a membrane protein located in the endoplasmic reticulum. It catalyzes the formation of cholesteryl esters from cholesterol and long-chain fatty acyl-coenzyme A. Cholesteryl ester is the storage form of cholesterol. The first gene encoding the enzyme ACAT1 was identified in our laboratory. We have also purified this protein to homogeneity and characterized it biochemically. In many neurodegenerative diseases, the cholesterol-rich microdomains in the membranes of various cell types are disrupted. We have shown that in mouse models for Alzheimer's disease and for Niemann Pick type C disease, inactivating ACAT1 can divert the cholesterol storage pool, such that the "mobilized cholesterol" can repair the disrupted cholesterol-rich microdomains. Future investigations are directed to develop novel ACAT inhibitors to ameliorate Alzheimer's disease, Niemann-Pick type C disease, and atherosclerosis. We will also use biochemical and biophysical approaches to identify the active sites and regulatory sites in ACAT1 and to investigate the mechanistic consequence of inhibiting ACAT in macrophages, neurons, microglia, and astrocytes. 

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Michael D. Cole, Ph.D.

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Michael Cole

Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology

633 Rubin

Phone: 603-653-9975 


Our studies that focus on the genetic events involved in the induction of cancer provide an opportunity to define the molecular basis of the disease and to study the regulation and function of important eukaryotic genes that control cell proliferation.

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Duane A. Compton, Ph.D.

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Duane Compton

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Dean of Geisel School of Medicine

Office: 650 Williamson Translational Research Building

Phone: 603-646-5190

We investigate the mechanisms that regulate accurate chromosome segregation in human cells and the causes of chromosomal instability in tumors.


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Patrick J. Dolph, Ph.D.

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Patrick Dolph

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

Office: 351 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-1092


Our laboratory utilizes Drosophila melanogaster as a model system to study retinal degeneration and molecular mechanisms of cell death.


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Jay C. Dunlap, Ph.D.

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Jay C. Dunlap

Nathan Smith Professor of Genetics, Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 702 Remsen

Phone: 603-646-5247

Work in the Dunlap lab is directed towards understanding circadian biology, the means by which biological clocks operate, are reset by the environment, and control the metabolism of cells. More recently a second effort has nucleated around high throughput functional genomics of filamentous fungi including Neurospora and Aspergillus spp.

No longer accepting new thesis students.

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Scott A. Gerber, Ph.D.

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Scott Gerber

Kenneth E. and Carol L. Weg Distinguished Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology, and Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Associate Director of QBS Program

Office: 734 Rubin

Phone: 603-653-3679 


Research in the Gerber Lab is focused on developing and using modernproteomics methods to understand the mechanisms by which dysregulated mitotic kinases, such as Aurora kinase A, contribute to the onset and maintenance of cancers.

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Erik E. Griffin, Ph.D.

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Erik Griffin

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

Office: 348 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-8269


We are interested in understanding how protein concentration gradients are generated in the cytoplasm and contribute to cell fate specification during development. We combine live imaging, biochemical and genetic approaches to study a series of cytoplasmic protein gradients that help pattern the early C. elegans embryo. 


No longer accepting new thesis students.

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Mary Lou Guerinot, Ph.D.

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Mary Lou Guerinot

Ronald and Deborah Harris Professor in the Sciences, Professor of Biological Sciences, and Molecular and Systems Biology

Office: 325 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-2527


My principal expertise and research interests are in the area of metal transport and regulation of gene expression by metals. Plants are the major point of entry for essential metals into the food chain, so our work is laying the foundation for crops that offer sustainable solutions for malnutrition.


No longer accepting thesis students.

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Bing He, Ph.D.

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Bing He

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

Office: 350 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-2649 


I am interested in how complex tissue and organ structures arise from simple tissue primordia. Using an interdisciplinary approach combining genetics, cell biology, biophysics and mathematical modeling, we seek to understand how developmental patterning information controls individual cell shape changes and how they are integrated into stereotyped tissue-scale deformations.


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Henry N. Higgs, Ph.D.

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Henry Higgs

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, John La Porte Given Professor in Cytology

Office: 403 Vail

Phone: 603-646-5193

Mammalian cells use actin filaments in a huge number of ways, and we are trying to figure out how cells control when and where specific actin-based structures are made. We use a combination of cellular (live-cell microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, EM, cell-free assays) and biochemical (actin polymerization kinetics, analytical ultracentrifugation, structural analysis) in our research.


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Michael B. Hoppa, Ph.D.

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Michael Hoppa

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Co-Director of Integrative Neuroscience at Dartmouth Graduate Program

Office: 324 Life Sciences

Phone: 603-646-8850


We explore the molecular mechanisms that control ion channel localization, expression and function in primary neurons using quantitative optical approaches in combination with genetic and biochemical tools. 


 

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Arminja N. Kettenbach, Ph.D.

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Arminja Kettenbach

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 763 Rubin


Phone: 603-653-9067 


Research in the lab focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which phosphatases contribute to phosphorylation-dependent signal transduction in mitosis. We use cell biological, biochemical, and proteomics approaches to decipher the connectivity and complexity of these signaling events in normal and cancer cells. 


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Soni Lacefield, Ph.D.

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Soni Lacefield, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office:    413 Remsen

Phone:    603/646-5896

My research group investigates meiotic cell cycle regulation and chromosome segregation in budding yeast and mouse oogenesis. Our goal is to understand how checkpoint mechanisms monitor cell cycle events, how kinetochores attach to microtubules, and how both meiotic divisions are regulated to ensure faithful chromosome segregation. We use a combination of live cell imaging, cell biology, biochemistry, and genetics in our studies. 

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Steven D. Leach, M.D.

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Steven Leach

Director of Norris Cotton Cancer Center

Preston T. and Virginia R. Kelsey Distinguished Chair in Cancer

Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology

Office: DH, Rubin Building, Room 801

Phone: 603-653-3611 


The Leach lab studies pancreatic developmental, epithelial and tumor biology, using mouse, zebrafish and human model sytems. 


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Jiwon Lee, Ph.D.

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Jiwon Lee

Ralph and Marjorie Crump Assistant Professor of Engineering

Thayer School of Engineering

Office:  ECSC 135J

Phone:  603-646-3485

The Lee Lab studies the dynamics of antibody repertoires in infectious disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer using high-throughput sequencing of B cell transcripts and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The repertoire of antibody molecules circulating in blood or coating mucosal surfaces is the basis for protective immunity, and we employ machine learning frameworks, big data analytics tools, proteomic analytical methods, and data modeling to gain clinically relevant insights regarding protective mechanisms at unprecedented details. Leveraging this knowledge, we aim to design next-generation therapeutics and vaccines precisely tailored to maximize effectiveness in the context of particular diseases and/or patients (i.e. personalized/precision medicine).

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Jennifer J. Loros, Ph.D.

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Jennifer Loros

Professor of Biochemistry, and Molecular and Systems Biology

Office: 704 Remsen

Phone: 603-646-5247

Our laboratories are interested in the genetic and molecular dissection of circadian systems in eukaryotic cells with a research emphasis on the fungus Neurospora and mammalian tissue culture. The circadian system comprises the core molecular feedback loop, how this loop feeds information to the cell and organism and how input to the loop via temperature changes and photoreceptors is regulated.


No longer accepting new thesis students.

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Dean R. Madden, Ph.D.

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Dean Madden

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Dartmouth Vice Provost for Research

Office: 408A Vail

Phone: 603-646-5197

Structure and function of ion channels and proteins that regulate their intracellular trafficking.


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Prerna Malaney, Ph.D.

Prerna Malaney, Ph.D.

Prerna Malaney

Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Cell Biology and Dartmouth Cancer Center

 

Office: 677G01 Williamson Translational Research Building

Phone:    

My lab investigates the role of RNA-binding proteins and RNA processing in maintaining cellular homeostasis and how these processes go awry in cancer to establish a fundamental basis for therapeutic enquiry. We use a combination of biochemistry, molecular biology and mouse modelling techniques to answer our scientific questions.

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Aaron McKenna, Ph.D.

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Aaron McKenna

Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology

Office:  658 Williamson Translational Research Building

Phone:  603-650-1866

My lab is interested in how cells grow and divide to form complex structures, such as the transformation from the zygote to an adult human or from a transformed cell into a tumor mass. To study these processes, we develop technologies to trace pattern of cell divisions which recovers the lineage of each cell. This information can be combined with other measures of cell state such as single-cell transcriptomic data to develop a rich picture of how choices are made in development and how this process is dysregulated in diseases such as cancer.

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Dale F. Mierke, Ph.D.

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Dale Mierke

Professor of Chemistry, and Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 202 Burke

Phone: 603-646-1154


Develop molecular inhibitors of specific protein-protein interactions which may find use as physiological tools or eventual therapeutic agents, using the structural features as determined from many experimental (mainly NMR) and computational techniques.


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James B. Moseley, Ph.D.

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James Moseley

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 412 Remsen

Phone: 603-646-5202

Many cell types delay cell cycle transitions until they reach a critical size threshold. We are studying the cellular mechanisms that measure size, and their role in coordinating cell growth and division.

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Larry C. Myers, Ph.D.

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Lawrence Myers

Associate Professor of Medical Education, and Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: Vail 412

Phone: 603-650-1198

The goal of our lab is to determine how genetic and epigenetic information in eukaryotic cells is used to regulate the transcription of genes. We are particularly interested in how human fungal pathogens utilize epigenetic regulatory strategies to switch phenotypes and facilitate virulence.

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Esteban A. Orellana, Ph.D.

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Esteban A. Orellana, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Molecular and Systems Biology

Office:  Remsen 725A

Phone:

Esteban investigates whether changes in the chemical modification (also known as the epitranscriptome) of RNA molecules play a role in the development of human cancers. In all cells, RNAs perform a variety of functions, including synthesizing proteins. While messenger RNAs (mRNAs) provide the instructions for producing a protein, transfer RNAs (tRNAs) "read" the information in that message and supply the necessary amino acid building blocks. To function properly, these transfer RNAs must fold into the correct three-dimensional shape, a process that requires the RNA to be chemically modified. Owing to their high cellular abundance and stability, tRNAs have been commonly considered to be housekeeping molecules. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that tRNAs are highly regulated, and that even small changes in their abundance or their nucleotide modification levels can have profound effects, leading to aberrant translation, changes in protein expression, and disease states. The tRNA epitranscriptome and the functional tRNA pool have emerged as important regulatory layers in the translation of the human genome. However, our current understanding of the functional tRNA pool is limited. Therefore, the focus of the Orellana Lab is to study the causes and effects of tRNA dysregulation in human disease and to use this knowledge to develop tRNA-based therapeutics and diagnosis.

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Ekaterina V. Pletneva, Ph.D.

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Ekaterina Pletneva

Associate Professor of Chemistry, and Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 114 Burke

Phone: 603-546-2501

Our studies examine the interplay between protein dynamics and redox reactivity in signaling transformations and address fundamental problems in reaction mechanisms, coordination chemistry and biology.

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Michael J. Ragusa, Ph.D.

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Michael Ragusa

Associate Professor of Chemistry, and Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 221 Burke

Phone: 603-646-9066

Autophagy is a catabolic cellular process capable of degrading large cellular material including organelles and aggregates. We are interested in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of autophagy through a combination of X-ray crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering and biochemistry.

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PAUL J. ROBUSTELLI, PH.D.

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Paul Robustelli

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office:  203 Burke

Phone:  603-646-2270

The Robustelli laboratory integrates computational methods with biophysical experiments to obtain atomic-level descriptions of the functional motions of biomolecules, with a particular interest in intrinsically disordered proteins.  We aim to use insights from atomistic molecular simulations to understand, predict and design binding interactions of dynamic of disordered proteins and to elucidate general principles governing molecular recognition in dynamic systems.  A current focus of our laboratory is understanding the thermodynamic driving forces of small molecule ligands binding to disordered protein sequences, with the goal of providing new avenues to therapeutic interventions in diseases associated with disordered protein dysfunction through the rational design of small molecule and biologic inhibitors.

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Benjamin D. Ross, Ph.D.

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Ben Ross

Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office:  504A Vail Building

Phone:

The bacteria resident in the human gastrointestinal tract (the gut microbiota) potently influence diverse aspects of human health, including immunity. However, the forces that govern the composition of the gut microbiota are poorly understood. Our work focuses on a mechanistic, ecological, and evolutionary understanding of how interbacterial interactions between members of the dominant Gram-negative bacteria in the gut, the Bacteroidales, modulate the composition of the microbiota. The Bacteroidales utilize a contact-dependent toxin-delivery system known as the type VI secretion system (T6SS) to kill neighboring cells. We study the impact of this pathway on the microbiota and how bacteria adapt to defend against T6SS-mediated antagonism, using a combination of bacterial genetics, biochemistry, metagenomics, and germ-free mouse models. We are also interested in understanding why Bacteroidales abundance is depleted in individuals with cystic fibrosis, with the goal of improving health through restoration of these bacteria.

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G. Eric Schaller, Ph.D.

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G. Eric Schaller

Professor of Biological Sciences

Office: 339 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-2525


Signal transduction by the plant hormones ethylene and cytokinin, and how these hormones act to control growth and development.


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Daniel Schultz, Ph.D.

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Daniel Schultz

Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 206 Vail

Phone: 603-646-5390

The Schultz lab develops quantitative approaches to study the emergence, operation and optimization of the gene networks that control cell responses in bacteria, with a focus on antibiotic resistance mechanisms. We combine mathematical modeling, bioinformatics, experimental evolution and microfluidics to analyze how the cell controls the expression of resistance genes during drug responses. We strive to guide innovation in clinical therapies by uncovering the selective pressures that shape the evolution of antibiotic resistance in natural environments.

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Christopher J. Shoemaker, Ph.D.


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Christopher Shoemaker

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 302B Vail

Phone: 603-646-5209

We are interested in the molecular mechanisms governing mammalian autophagy. We take a multidisciplinary approach involving CRISPR-based genetic screening, flow cytometry, quantitative microscopy and biochemical analysis.

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Roger D. Sloboda, Ph.D.

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Rodger Sloboda

Ira Allen Eastman Professor Biological Sciences, Active Emeritus

Office: 222 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-2377


We study microtubule dependent particle motility inside cells using intraflagellar transport (IFT) in the biflagellate green alga, Chlamydomonas and the primary cilia of MDCK cells in culture as the model systems.


No longer accepting new thesis students.

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Bruce Stanton, Ph.D.

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Bruce Stanton

Andrew C. Vail Memorial Professor

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and of Physiology

Office: 615 Remsen

Phone: 603-646-5395

Our laboratory studies the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis. In particular we study host pathogen interactions between bacteria and human airway epithelial cells and the interactome of CFTR and how interacting proteins regulate CFTR trafficking. We also examine how environmental toxins, in particular arsenic, cause and contribute to respiratory and diseases and inflammation.


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Mark Sundrud, Ph.D.

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Sundrud, Mark

Professor of Medicine, and of Microbiology and Immunology

Office:  Borwell 630W

The Sundrud laboratory is focused on the identification and regulation of pro-inflammatory T cell subsets that are involved in the development and persistence of chronic inflammatory disorders. The laboratory integrates the use of clinical human tissue samples, primary T cell culture techniques, mouse models of autoimmunity, and molecular biology and biochemistry to forge new insight into the development and pathogenesis of inflammation. The lab is particularly interested in metabolic and stress response pathways that control T cell development and function.

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Surachai Supattapone, M.D., Ph.D., D.Phil.


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Surachai Supattapone

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and Medicine

Office: 311 Vail

Phone: 603-646-5212

Our lab investigates the molecular mechanisms responsible for the propagation of protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases, with special focus on infectious mammalian prions.  We also use whole genome CRISPR libraries to study various areas of cell biology in mammalian cells.

 

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Xiaofeng Wang, Ph.D.

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Xiaofeng Wang

Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology

Office: 632 Rubin

Phone:  603-653-9974


Our work focuses on cancer epigenetics. We are particularly interested in studying a family of chromatin remodeling complexes, which are frequently mutated in a variety of human cancers. Our work is aimed to understand how these mutations cause cancer, focusing on the regulation of chromatin structure dynamics (epigenomics) and chromatin remodeler protein complex assembly, as well as using genetic and chemical screens to identify potential therapeutic targets in human cancers. 


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William T. Wickner, M.D.

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William Wickner

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: 425 Remsen

Phone: 603-646-5214

We study how membrane vesicles fuse as they deliver new proteins, hormones, and neurotransmitters to their destinations.

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