Areas of Research

Our department makes significant contributions to research in many areas of structural biology.

Our research informs the starting points for better drug design, identifying new classes of anti-tumor agents, ways to fight opportunistic infections in AIDS patients, combating inflammation in arthritis and cardiovascular disease, and preventing bronchial infections in cystic fibrosis patients.

Thomas Grant, PhD

  • Iterative phasing for solution scattering
  • Serial crystallography
  • Solution Scattering
  • Time-resolved X-ray scattering
  • X-ray crystallography
  • XFEL Data Reduction and Analysis

Andrew Gulick, PhD

  • Assay Development
  • Enzymology
  • Natural Product Biosynthesis
  • Structural Biology

Michael Malkowski, PhD

  • Cyclooxygenase Catalysis and Inhibition
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Protein Production
  • Structural Biology
  • X-Ray Crystallography

Michael Martynowycz, Ph.D.

  • Computational Algorithms for Electron Diffraction Data
  • Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM)
  • Development of MicroED Techniques for Small Molecules
  • Electron Counting and Radiation Damage Mitigation
  • Ion Beam Milling for CryoEM and MicroED
  • Microcrystal Electron Diffraction (MicroED)
  • Structural Analysis of Membrane Proteins
  • Structure-Based Drug Design

Monica Pillon, Ph.D.

  • Cell Biology: Using model human cell lines, we perturb discrete RNA processing signals to determine their importance in gene regulation and cell function.
  • Enzymology: We harness the power of enzyme studies to discover the mechanism of action of ribonucleases and the role of their regulatory partners.
  • Integrated Structural Biology: We combine structural approaches such as cryo Electron Microscopy (CryoEM), X-ray crystallography, and chemical crosslinking mass spectrometry to reveal the architecture of RNA processing machines in action.
  • Reconstitution of Ribonucleoprotein Assemblies: Our lab specializes in the production and assembly of historically refractory RNA processing molecular machines.