Degree Program Offered: Doctor of Philosophy

Acting Director of Graduate Program: Professor Abram Gabriel, Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Busch Campus (732-235-5097)

Acting Associate Director of Graduate Program: Professor Marc Gartenburg, UMDNJ-RWJMS, Busch Campus (732-235-5800)

Members of the Graduate Faculty

Stephen Anderson, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Proteases and protease inhibitors; protein folding; molecular recognition; structural bioinformatics

Edward Arnold, Professor of Chemistry, SAS/CABM; Ph.D., Cornell
Protein and virus structure; AIDS; drug and vaccine design

Maureen M. Barr, Associate Professor of Genetics, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Columbia 
C. elegans cilia development, morphogenesis, and function: a human disease model

Jean S. Baum,  Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Structural studies of proteins by nuclear magnetic resonance techniques

Helen M. Berman, Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Pittsburgh
Crystallographic and molecular modeling studies of biological molecules

Dawn L. Brasaemle,  Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D., Wisconsin
Biology of neutral lipid storage and release

Kenneth J. Breslauer, Linus C. Pauling Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Yale
Drug-DNA interactions; DNA lesions and mutagenesis/repair; DNA conformational heterogeneity; ligand macromolecular recognition; rational drug design; DNA-based diagnostics and therapeutics

Gary Brewer,  Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Auburn
Posttranscriptional control of gene expression in disease

Steven J. Brill, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
Eukaryotic DNA replication and genome stability

Barbara Brodsky, Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Harvard
Structure and binding of triple-helix peptides as models for collagen and the macrophage scavenger receptor

George M. Carman, Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D., Massachusetts
Enzymology of phospholipid metabolism

Kuang-Yu Chen, Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Yale
Biochemistry and function of polyamines and hypasine; gene regulation in cell aging and tumor reversion; nutraceuticals, cancer, and aging

David T. Denhardt, Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, SAS; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
Molecular biology of cancer; cell signaling and regulation of gene expression; structure and function of osteopontin and tissue inhibitor or metalloproteinases

Dessislava Dimova, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Cornell
The E2F/RB pathway--study of transcriptional regulatory networks through genomics

Monica A. Driscoll, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Molecular genetics of degenerative cell death; mechanical signaling

Richard H. Ebright, Professor of Chemistry, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Transcription; protein-DNA interaction; protein-protein interaction; single molecule imaging

Isaac Edery, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS/CABM; Ph.D., McGill (Canada)
Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying biological clocks

Julie M. Fagan, Professor of Animal Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D., Arizona
Proteases and their inhibitors in health and disease

Bonnie Firestein, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., California (San Diego)
Targeting of neuronal proteins

Joseph Fondell, Associate Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
Regulation of gene expression by nuclear hormone receptors

Abram Gabriel, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; M.D., Johns Hopkins
Mechanisms of retrotransposon replication; chromosomal rearrangements

Marc Gartenberg,  Professor of Pharmacology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Yale
Chromosomal DNA structure and organization; transcriptional silencing

Celine Gelinas, Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS/CABM; Ph.D., Sherbrooke (Canada)
Function of viral and cellular oncogenes

Donald Gerecke, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, EMSP; Ph.D., Harvard
Molecular biology of lung fibrosis

Marion Gordon, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, EMSP; Ph.D., UMDNJ/Rutgers
Collagen gene regulation during cornea development; regulation and function of EMMPRIN, a matrix metalloproteinase stimulator, in normal and transformed cells

Barth Grant, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Princeton
Endocytosis in C. elegans

Samuel Gunderson, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Wisconsin
Gene expression; pre-mRNA processing; autoregulation; splicing; polyadenylation

Raymond Habas, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
The role of Wnt signaling during vertebrate development and cancer

Michael Hampsey, Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS/CINJ; Ph.D., Purdue
Gene expression; chromatin; yeast genetics

Sarah E. Hitchcock-DeGregori, Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve
Biochemistry and molecular biology of contractile proteins

Shu-Chan Hsu, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., British Columbia (Canada)
Molecular mechanisms of synaptic development and function

Qingrong Huang, Associate Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D., Nebraska
DNA/protein chips; food delivery systems; nanotechnology

Masayori Inouye, Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Osaka (Japan)
Membrane biogenesis; regulation of synthesis of outer membrane proteins

Sumiko Inouye, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Nagoya (Japan)
Myxobacteria and bacterial reverse transcriptases

Kenneth D. Irvine, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Stanford
Cell signaling and growth control during Drosophila development

Shengkan (Victor) Jin, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Cornell
Tumor suppressor genes; programmed cell death; tumorigenesis

Frank Jordan, Professor of Chemistry, FAS-N; Ph.D., Pennsylvania
Mechanism of thiamin-dependent enzymes and of serine proteases

Peter C. Kahn, Professor of Biochemistry, SEBS; Ph.D., Columbia
Multisubunit proteins; circular dichroism; agent orange

Charolampos Kalodimos, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, SAS; Ph.D., Institut Curie/Ioannina (France/Greece)
Protein structure and dynamics; biomolecular NMR; mechanistic biology

Vassiliki Karantza-Wadsworth, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UMDNJ-RWJMS/CINJ; M.D., UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins
Breast cancer progression and treatment; autophagy, apoptosis, beclin1

Frederick C. Kauffman, Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology, EMSP; Ph.D., Illinois
Biochemical aspects of toxicology

Megerditch Kiledjian, Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., Pennsylvania
RNA-protein interactions in the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression

Isaac Kim, Assistant Professor of Surgery, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D./M.D., Northwestern
Roles of transforming growth factor-ß and bone morphongenetic proteins in prostate cancer cells

Terri Goss Kinzy, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve
Eukaryotic translation elongation and regulation of gene expression

Tony Ah-Ng Kong, Professor of Pharmaceutics, EMSP; Ph.D., SUNY (Buffalo)
Pharmacogenomics and toxicogenomics of cancer chemopreventative compounds

Eric Lam, Professor of Plant Science, BCAE/SEBS; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Plant gene targeting; programmed cell death; chromatin imaging

Jerome Langer, Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Yale
Interferon and receptor structure and function; dengue virus interaction with cells

Debra Laskin, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, EMSP; Ph.D., Medical College of Virginia
Immunology; inflammation; cytokines, nitric oxide, macrophages

Jeffrey D. Laskin, Professor of Environmental and Community Medicine, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., SUNY (Buffalo)
Carcinogenesis and differentiation in cell culture; nitric oxide

Ki-Bum Lee, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, SAS; Ph.D., Northwestern
Signaling pathways in stem cells; dynamic cell processes

John Lenard, Professor of Physiology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Cornell
Transcription, replication, and fusion of RNA viruses; cellular fusion mechanisms

Ronald M. Levy, Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Computational molecular biology; computational chemistry; computer modeling of protein structure; folding and dynamics; structural genomics

Alice Y.C. Liu, Professor of Biological Sciences, SAS; Ph.D., Mount Sinai
Stress, aging, and the role of redox in cell signaling and regulation

Fang Liu, Associate Professor of Chemical Biology, EMSP/CABM; Ph.D., Harvard
Growth and differentiation control

Leroy Liu, Professor of Pharmacology; UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Cancer biology; cancer pharmacology; DNA conformation dynamics

Peter Lobel, Professor of Pharmacology, UMDNJ-RWJMS/CABM; Ph.D., Columbia
Lysomal enzymes and human hereditary diseases, mannose 6-phosphate receptors

Kiran Madura, Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Rochester
Mechanism and significance of ubiquitin-dependent degradation of g-alpha

Pal Maliga, Professor of Genetics, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Genetics and molecular biology of plastids; RNA editing

Paul Manowitz, Professor of Psychiatry, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Brandeis
Molecular biology and biochemistry of mental illness

Joe Marcotrigiano, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; SAS; Ph.D., Rockefeller
Structural biology, molecular genetics, and biochemistry of RNA virus

Tara Matise, Associate Professor of Genetics, SAS; Ph.D., Pittsburgh
Computational genetics

Fumio Matsumura, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Nagoya (Japan)
Molecular cell biology of cell division

Richard Mendelsohn, Professor of Chemistry, FAS-N; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Biophysical studies of membrane structure

Joachim W. Messing, University Professor of Molecular Biology, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Munich (Germany)
Plant molecular biology

Gaetano T. Montelione, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Cornell
Protein NMR spectroscopy; molecular recognition; rational drug design; structural bioinformatics

Bryce E. Nickels, Assistant Professor of Genetics, SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Mechanisms of transcription; regulation of bacterial gene expression

Robert A. Niederman, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry,
SAS; D.V.M., Ph.D., Illinois
Structure, function, and assembly of photosynthetic membranes

Wilma Olson, Mary I. Bunting Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Stanford
Relation of structure, conformation, and function in nucleic acids

Richard Padgett, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
TGF-beta signal transduction in C. elegans and Drosophila

Smita Patel, Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Tufts
Genome replication and transcription and kinetic modeling of reaction pathways

Stuart Peltz, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Wisconsin (Madison)
Eukaryote gene expression

Sidney Pestka, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; M.D., Pennsylvania
Natural interferons: genes, receptors

George Pieczenik, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, SEBS; Ph.D., New York
Evolutionary paradigms for molecular information

John Pintar, Professor of Neuroscience, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Oregon
Molecular analysis of gene expression during mammalian development

Vincenzo Pirrotta, Professor and Chair of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Chromatin silencing; polycomb complexes; transcriptional regulation

Arnold Rabson, Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, UMDNJ-RWJMS; M.D., Brown
Molecular biology of human retroviruses; gene regulation in human cancer

Charles Roth, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, SE; Ph.D., Delaware
Molecular bioengineering; inflammatory diseases; applied bioinformatics

Monica Roth, Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Albert Einstein
Genetics and biochemistry of murine leukemia virus

Melitta Schachner, Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., Max Planck Institute for Biology (Germany)
Formation of appropriate connections among nerve cells

Carl P. Schaffner, Professor Emeritus of Biology, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Illinois
Antibiotic chemistry and biology; prostatic cholesterogenesis

Konstantin Severinov, Professor of Genetics, SAS; Ph.D., Russian Academy of Sciences
Structure and function of RNA polymerases from eubacteria and yeasts

Aaron Shatkin, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; University Professor of Molecular Biology, Rutgers; Director, Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine; Ph.D., Rockefeller
Eukaryotic gene expression; viral cytopathogenesis

Navin K. Sinha, Associate Professor of Biology, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Minnesota
Accuracy of DNA replication; chemical carcinogenesis

Ruth Steward, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Basel (Switzerland)
Nuclear migration, RNA localization, and patterning in Drosophila

Ann Stock, Professor of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-RWJMS/CABM; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Structure and function of signal transduction proteins

Vasily Studitsky, Professor of Pharmacology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., W. Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology (Moscow)
DNA transcription through chromatin

Nanjoo Suh, Associate Professor of Chemical Biology, EMSP; Ph.D., Illinois (Chicago)
Mechanistic study of cancer prevention and inflammation-natural/synthetic agents

T.J. Thomas, Associate Professor of Medicine, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Indian Institute of Science (India)
Development of gene-targeted strategies for breast cancer treatment

Chih-Cheng Tsai, Assistant Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
Transcriptional regulation; nuclear receptor corepressors; Drosophila development

Theodorus van Es, Professor of Biochemistry, SEBS; Ph.D., Witwatersrand (South Africa)
Carbohydrate chemistry; nonimmunogenic enzymes; quinoline chemistry

Andrew K. Vershon, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Structure/function of yeast transcriptional regulatory proteins

Nancy Walworth,  Professor of Pharmacology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Yale
Regulation of cell cycle progression in eukaryotic cells

William W. Ward, Professor of Biochemistry, SEBS; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins
Bioluminescence mechanisms; protein and peptide biochemistry

Guy Werlen, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., Geneva
Signaling networks and mechanisms that control life and death of developing T lymphocytes

Eileen White, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS/CABM; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
Programmed cell death

Lori White, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, SEBS; Ph.D., Dartmouth
Molecular mechanisms of xenobiotic-induced pathologies

Donald Winkelmann, Associate Professor of Pathology, UMDNJ-RWJMS; Ph.D., Wisconsin (Madison)
Macromolecular structure and assembly mechanisms of muscular contraction

Chung S. Yang, Professor II of Chemical Biology, EMSP; Ph.D., Cornell
Molecular mechanisms of esophageal carcinogenesis and its prevention; genetic polymorphism and cancer risk

Guofeng You, Professor of Pharmaceutics, EMSP; Ph.D., Clark
Molecular and cellular pharmacology; drug/toxin elimination

Peter D. Yurchenco, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UMDNJ-RWJMS; M.D., Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Molecular basis of basement membrane structure and function; receptor-mediated cell-matrix interactions

Barbara A. Zilinskas, Professor of Plant Biochemistry, SEBS; Ph.D., Illinois
Oxidative stress in plants and microorganisms; plant molecular biology and biochemistry

Gerben Zylstra, Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, BCAE/SEBS; Ph.D., Michigan
Microbial genomics; high throughput screening; molecular analysis of biodegradation pathways

Associate Members of the Graduate Faculty

Mary Konsolaki, Associate Research Professor of Genetics, SAS; Ph.D., Crete (Greece) Neurodegenerative diseases, using Drosophila as a model system

Catherine Phillips, Assistant Research Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., London (UK)
Regulation of polyadenylation at the immunoglobulin secretory poly(a) site