Department of Biochemistry

“Collaborate. Contribute. Prepare. In our department, you will work alongside accomplished faculty dedicated to helping you master cutting-edge research techniques and develop new science,” says Mark R. O’Brian, PhD, professor and chair of biochemistry.

Our Programs

Excel in our supportive environment

9/9/20

Mohamed Sharif wanted to become a more rounded research professional; we ensured he was equipped with development opportunities.

Learn how he has excelled

Belong to a strong, collaborative community

9/9/20

Work alongside faculty, peers and intradepartmental scientists who’ll help enhance your research.

9/13/22 See our focus and research groups

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Our curriculum based on the belief that we expect our graduates to be the sum of our collective expertise and to emerge better trained than any one of us.

PhD Program
9/13/22
As a PhD candidate, you will research in our highly collaborative environment, present your findings on multiple occasions and acquire the skills of a well-rounded, independent research scientist.
Master’s Degree Program
9/13/22
Our course-and-research-based program include laboratory rotations to provide you opportunities to collaborate and hands-on experience in lab techniques.
Undergraduate Program
9/13/22
Our department emphasizes the structure and function of macromolecules, mechanisms and regulation of gene expression, and metabolic processes as they relate to basic and biomedical sciences.

We are hiring!

The Department of Biochemistry is actively recruiting for two assistant/associate professor positions.

See posting here.

“During my time at the Jacobs School, I have learned what it means to be an independent scientist and have learned to ask questions to help me better understand what I’m doing.”

8/19/21

Isabella Lydia Ann Schember
Doctoral student in biochemistry

“Collaboration here is great. There is so much that people are working on that they can offer insight with a different viewpoint.”

9/28/21

Alexandra Ruth Glathar
Doctoral student in biochemistry

“UB taught me to look past the educational setting and learn what I need to do to become a better professional and independent researcher.”

4/23/21

Mohamed Sharif
Doctoral candidate in biochemistry

“The things we can do with bioinformatics are unimaginable. We can use genomic sequences to find cures for diseases and improve agriculture for everyone’s benefit.”

3/8/22

Hasiba Asma
Doctoral candidate in genetics, genomics and bioinformatics

Dr. Feltri gives us the independence needed to make our projects our own, but always keeps an open door to answer questions and help when we need guidance.

4/23/21

Michael Weaver
MD-PhD student

“While here, I’ve learned a variety of applicable techniques, collaborated with scientists from a range of disciplines, and developed my ability to think critically about research questions.”

1/27/22

Haley Victoria Parker

Trainee in the doctoral program in biochemistry

“The work I have completed and skill set I have learned in Dr. Estrada’s lab are perfect to pursue a career at a pharmaceutical company since it is focused on understanding the molecular basis by which a major family of drug metabolizing enzymes works.”

5/13/22

Chris Campomizzi

Doctoral student in biochemistry

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Collaboration and Research Opportunities

Our intradepartmental and multidisciplinary focus groups collaborate with other scientists with shared interests in specific experimental problems.

We encourage you to be active members of our focus groups. Your involvement will provide you with regular contact with faculty and other students across Buffalo’s larger scientific community.

Research and Focus Groups
9/13/22
Our faculty participate in vibrant focus groups that draw on expertise from the larger community of scientists at UB and at affiliated research institutions in Buffalo.
Faculty Research Labs
9/13/22
Our extramurally funded research projects investigate protein structure and function, membrane structure and transport, regulation of gene expression, DNA repair, metabolic regulation, and cellular development and differentiation.
Research Opportunities for Undergraduate Students
9/13/22
The biochemistry major requires you to complete eight credit hours of laboratory research.

“Dr. Buck has been a very helpful mentor. The training in his lab helped me to get into the University of Toronto, which has one of the best molecular genetics programs in the whole world.”

5/6/22

Shamira Tabrejee, MS ’20
Genetics, genomics and bioinformatics

“UB faculty understood where I was and had a vision of where I would need to go.”

12/19/19

Robert W. Maul, PhD ’07
Postdoctoral fellow

“Labs in the department span very diverse research interests.”

4/23/21

Thomas Hohle, PhD ’10
Biochemistry

“My mentor was very patient. She took the time to explain things.”

2/22/21

Lisa Russell, PhD ’11
Biochemistry

“My mentor let me take routes I wanted to explore.”

4/23/21

Will Borschel, PhD ’12
Biochemistry

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Our Research and Expertise

We develop foundations for more effective therapeutics

9/9/20

Yungki Park, PhD, conducts research he aims to translate into the treatment of demyelinating diseases.

View Park’s faculty profile

Our faculty researchers make a difference

9/9/20

With her trainees, M. Laura Feltri, MD, has conducted groundbreaking studies and discovered research techniques that boost understanding of neurological diseases.

View Feltri’s faculty profile

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Our faculty have diverse expertise and are committed to teaching and mentoring in a collaborative environment that provides you practical training in state-of-the art facilities.

The objective of all our research is to determine how a specific component or process within cells works, and how it is integrated with other cellular components.

Learn more about our faculty

Department News

VITAL Scholars Visit Jacobs School, Present Research
11/7/22
UB’s Visiting Future Faculty Program (VITAL) returned for an encore as six outstanding doctoral students visited the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences as part of an initiative to increase the number of faculty at UB from traditionally underrepresented populations in North America.
18 Medical School Awardees Honored for Excellence
10/27/22
Fifteen faculty members and three staff members from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences were among those honored for notable achievements and service at the 19th annual University at Buffalo Celebration of Faculty and Staff Academic Excellence.
Popescu Feted for Promoting Inclusivity Within Science
10/13/22
Gabriela K. Popescu, PhD, professor of biochemistry, is an internationally known researcher in neuroscience. She is also an effective advocate for making science a more welcoming and inclusive environment — efforts that have earned her a significant new honor.
UB CAT Makes Investments in Six Life Sciences Companies
9/20/22
The University at Buffalo Center for Advanced Technology in Big Data and Health Sciences (UB CAT) has awarded six life sciences companies a total of $253,000 to support new biomedical technologies.
Popescu Next President-Elect of the Biophysical Society
9/13/22
Gabriela K. Popescu, PhD, professor of biochemistry, has been voted president-elect of the prestigious Biophysical Society.

See all our department news >

Our Faculty and Research In The News

Brain Fluid from Youngsters Gives Old Mice a Memory Boost
5/11/22
The Scientist consulted Gabriela Popescu, PhD, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, about research published this week in Nature. The research suggests injecting cerebrospinal fluid from younger mice into older mice can rejuvenate the memory of the recipients under specific conditions. Popescu said the paper’s observations are interesting and “a good fact to know,” but she has reservations. “I think it’s wrong to sell science this way,” said Popescu, referring to studies that imply there’s a straightforward way to reverse aging, memory loss or other common sources of health-related anxiety.
From virology to molecular defects in Friedreich’s ataxia [ASBMB Today]
4/7/22
An article in American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology reports on the work of Frances Smith, a student in the doctoral program in biochemistry at UB, who “wants to use her research to improve the quality of life of patients in the early stages of Friedreich’s ataxia,” according to the article. “Quality of life is extremely important in patients, as the most prioritized clinical benefit to therapeutics in FA are walking and balance,” Smith said. “I hope that my research of the brain environment around the neurons responsible for these functions can benefit the FA population.”
Another Voice: Racism cannot withstand the scrutiny of biology and genetics [The Buffalo News]
2/25/22
An article in The Buffalo News about how racism and biology written Mark R. O'Brian, PhD, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry in the Jacobs School. O'Brian writes, "Presumably, race construed as having biological meaning raises fears that it can explain racial disparities in society and therefore justify racism. Although these fears are understandable, it is the misrepresentation of human biology and genetics that have been used to promote race-based social hierarchies, eugenics and genocide."

See more of our faculty in the news >

Recent Faculty Publications

Conner MM, Parker HV, Falcone DR, Chung G, Schaner Tooley CE. (2022) Novel regulation of the transcription factor ZHX2 by N-terminal methylation. Transcription (Sep), 13(1-3): 1-15. doi:10.1080/21541264.2022.2079184
Iacobucci GJ, Liu B, Wen H, Sincox B, Zheng W, Popescu GK. (2022) Complex functional phenotypes of NMDA receptor disease variants. Molecular psychiatry (Sep).
Fan C, Kim D, An H, Park Y. (2022) Identifying an oligodendrocyte enhancer that regulates Olig2 expression. Human Molecular Genetics (Sep)

See more of our recent publications

Recent Research Funding

Center for Advanced Technology in Big Data and Health Sciences. Norma Nowak (Principal Investigator). New York State Department of Empire State Development. $9,200,000. 7/1/2017-6/1/2027.
Molecular mechanisms of skin immunity to Staphylococcal infection. Lee Ann Garrett-Sinha (Co-Principal Investigator). NIH. $527,503. 7/1/2022-6/1/2027.
Novel Combination Therapies to Combat Hypermutable Carbapenem-Resistant P. aeruginosa. Mark Sutton (Co-Principal Investigator). NIH, NIAID. $3,850,992. 5/1/2022-4/1/2027.

See more of our recent research grants

Department of Biochemistry

Our Programs

Collaboration and Research Opportunities

Our Research and Expertise

Department News

Our Faculty and Research In The News

Recent Faculty Publications

Recent Research Funding

Department of Biochemistry

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