Biochemistry 115
Degree Program Offered: Doctor of Philosophy
Codirector of Graduate Program: Professor Abram
Gabriel, Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, SAS, Busch Campus
(732-235-5097)
Codirector of Graduate Program: Professor Kiran Madura, RWJMS, Busch Campus (732-235-5602)
Website: http://molbiosci.rutgers.edu/biochemistry/about-the-biochemistry-program
Members of the Graduate Faculty
Tracy Anthony, Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D., Illinois (Urbana)
Protein and amino acid metabolism; adaptation to cell stress by eIF2 and mTOR pathways; nutrition and exercise
Edward Arnold, Professor of Chemistry, SAS/CABM; Ph.D., Cornell
Protein and virus structure; X-ray crystallography; AIDS; polymerases; vaccines
Maureen M. Barr, 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)
NMR; protein folding; molecular recognition
Helen M. Berman, Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Pittsburgh
Nucleic acid and protein structure; crystallography; biological databases
Jeffrey M. Boyd, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Utah State
Microbial biochemistry and molecular genetics; iron-sulfur cluster metabolism and cellular processes
Dawn L. Brasaemle, 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
Molecular recognition; drug-DNA interactions; DNA polymorphism; characterizing inter- and intramolecular forces macroscopically and microscopically; biothermodynamics
Gary Brewer, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Vanderbilt
Gene expression in cancer; immunity, and heart disease
Steven J. Brill, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
DNA repair and recombination; genetic control of genome stability
Samuel Bunting, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Cambridge
Mechanisms of DNA damage signaling and repair
George M. Carman, Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D., Massachusetts
Yeast phospholipid and nucleotide metabolism; enzymology; genetic regulation; lipids and cell signaling
Darren Carpizo, Associate
Professor of Medicine, CINJ; Ph.D., California (Los Angeles) Pancreatic cancer; liver cancer;
metastatic colorectal cancer; biliary cancer; whipple surgery;
radioembolization of liver tumors; regional liver chemotherapy
Kiran K. Chada, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS; D.Phil., Oxford
Mammalian genetics; human diseases; transgenic mice; developmental biology; cancer
Kuang-Yu Chen, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, SAS; Ph.D., Yale
Hypusine formation and eukaryotic initiation factor 5A; nutraceuticals-genomic screening and interactions; cell aging and late G1 gene regulation; osmotic stress and heat shock factor activation
Suzie Chen, Professor of Chemical Biology, EMSP; Ph.D.,
Albert Einstein
Mouse model of melanoma; regulation of cell signaling by
G-protein-coupled receptor
Davide Comoletti, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, RWJMS/CHINJ; D.V.M., Milan
Structural and molecular basis of synapse formation and connectivity in relation to autism spectrum disorders
Kiron M. Das, Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics,
Microbiology, and Immunology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Edinburgh; M.D., Calcutta
Immunopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease
David T. Denhardt, Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology and
Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
Systems biology of osteopontin: role in autoimmune disease,
stress responses, bone remodeling, and cancer metastasis
G. Charles Dismukes, Professor of Chemistry, SAS/WIM, and of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Wisconsin (Madison)
Biological and chemical approaches to renewable fuel production; catalysis; microbial metabolism
Joseph P. Dougherty, Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Yale
HIV-1 replication; gene therapy; retroviral vectors
Monica A. Driscoll, Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Developmental neurogenetics; molecular genetics of neuronal cell death; mechanosensory transduction in touch and feeling; molecular mechanisms of aging
Richard H. Ebright, Professor of
Chemistry, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Harvard
Structure, mechanism, and regulation of transcription
complexes; small-molecule inhibitors of transcription; single-molecule imaging;
single-molecule nanomanipulation
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, Professor of Cell Biology and
Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., California (San Diego)
Targeting of neuronal proteins
Joseph Fondell, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
Regulation of gene expression by nuclear hormone receptors
David J. Foran, Professor of Pathology, RWJMS; Ph.D.,
Rutgers/UMDNJ
Computer-assisted diagnostics; medical imaging; machine
learning; data mining; medical informatics
Abram Gabriel, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS; M.D., Johns Hopkins
Yeast; retrotransposons; reverse transcriptase fidelity; DNA repair;
chromosome stability
Marc R. Gartenberg, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Yale
Sister chromatid cohesion; gene expression; chromatin and
epigenetics
Celine Gelinas, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS/CABM;
Ph.D., Sherbrooke (Canada)
Oncogenes; transcription; malignant cell transformation;
cell proliferation; apoptosis
Donald Gerecke, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and
Toxicology, EMSP; Ph.D., Harvard
Collagen; lung; liver; heart; fibrosis; hypertension
Marion Gordon, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and
Toxicology, EMSP; Ph.D., Rutgers/UMDNJ
Cell matrix interactions; cell, developmental and molecular
biology of extracellular matrix molecules
Barth Grant, Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Princeton
Endocytosis and recycling; protein and membrane transport;
molecular genetics and genomics
Sam Guoping Gu, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., California (Santa Cruz)
RNA-mediated chromatin regulation in C. elegans and disease models
Samuel Gunderson, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology
and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Wisconsin
Regulation of polyadenylation; RNA-protein interactions
Jessie Yanxiang Guo,
Assistant Professor of Medicine, CINJ; Ph.D., Duke Cancer metabolism; autophagy;
oncogenes; cancer metastasis; metabolomics; lung cancer therapy
Michael Hampsey, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS;
Ph.D., Purdue
Regulation of gene expression; yeast genetics
Sarah E. Hitchcock-DeGregori, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, RWJMS; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve
Protein structure-function relationships
Shu-Chan Hsu, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and
Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., British Columbia
Molecular mechanisms of synaptic development and function
Wenwei Hu, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology,, RWJMS; Ph.D., Zhejiang (China)
p53; tumor suppressor;
stress response; apoptosis; single nucleotide polymorphism; microRNA;
tumor; development and reproduction
Qingrong Huang, Professor of Food Science, SEBS;
Ph.D., Nebraska
Novel functional food; nano- and microencapsulation of active
food ingredients; fabrication of nanoscale biosensors; nanotechnology
Masayori Inouye, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS;
Ph.D., Osaka (Japan)
Molecular biology of cellular adaptation to stresses
Kenneth D. Irvine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Stanford
Cell communication, patterning, and morphogenesis
Shengkan (Victor) Jin, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Cornell
Tumor suppressor genes; programmed cell death; tumorigenesis
William G. Johnson, Professor of Neurology, RWJMS;
M.D., Columbia
Human genetics; nervous system traits and diseases;
linkage mapping; genomic markers; microsatellite polymorphisms; positional
cloning
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 and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D.,
Columbia
Protein folding; subunit assembly; ligand interactions;
hydration; dioxins and related compounds
Sagar D. Khare, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D., North Carolina
Computational design of enzymes and protein-ligand interactions; molecular recognition
Megerditch Kiledjian, Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology and
Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., Pennsylvania
Posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression;
determinants of mRNA stability; RNA-protein interactions
Isaac Kim, Associate Professor of Surgery, RWJMS/CINJ;
Ph.D./M.D., Northwestern
Roles of transforming growth factor-ß and bone morphogenetic
proteins in prostate cancer cells
Terri Goss Kinzy, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve
Regulation of gene expression; mechanisms of protein
synthesis and G-protein regulation
Joachim B. Kohn, Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D.,
Weizmann (Israel)
Polymeric biomaterials; interaction of living cells with artificial surfaces
Tony Ah-Ng Kong, Professor of Pharmaceutics, EMSP; Ph.D.,
SUNY (Buffalo)
Dietary phytochemicals and cancer prevention; Nrf2-mediated
redox signaling; pharmacokinetics; pharmacodynamics
Kelvin Kwan, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Molecular basis of hair cell regeneration
Eric Lam, Professor of Plant Science, SEBS/BCAE; Ph.D.,
California (Berkeley)
Gene expression; transcription factors; signal transduction;
leaf morphogenesis; pattern formation
Jerome A. Langer, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Yale
Structure and function of interferons and interferon
receptors; development of Type I IFN antagonists; role of IFNs in autoimmune
diseases such as lupus
Debra L. Laskin, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology,
EMSP; Ph.D., Medical College of Virginia
Immunology; macrophages; nitric oxide; inflammation
Jeffrey D. Laskin, Professor of Environmental and Community
Medicine, RWJMS; Ph.D., SUNY (Buffalo)
Cancer research; oncogene expression and growth factor
mediated signal transduction; tyrosine kinases; immunobiology of inflammation;
nitric oxide
Edmund Lattime, Professor of Surgery and Molecular
Genetics, Microbiology, and Immunology, RWJMS/CINJ; Ph.D., Rutgers
Tumor immunology; immune mechanisms; genetically based
vaccine strategies
Jeehiun K. Lee, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, SAS;
Ph.D., Harvard
Biophysical organic and analytical chemistry; computational
chemistry; mass spectrometry; study of chemical reactivity, recognition, and
catalysis
Ki-Bum Lee, Professor of Chemistry, SAS; Ph.D.,
Northwestern
Tumor immunology; immune mechanisms; genetically-based
vaccine strategies
Honghua Li, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS/CINJ; Ph.D., Southern California
Genome-scale understanding of the genetic basis of breast
cancer; mechanisms underlying human immunoglobulin VH gene complex
diversification
Steven Libutti, Professor of Surgery, CINJ; Director, Rutgers CINJ; Vice Chancellor for Cancer Programs, RBHS; Ph.D., Columbia
Pathogenesis of neuroendocrine tumors; familiar cancer syndromes MEN1 and vHLAlice Y.C. Liu, Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience,
SAS; Ph.D., Mount Sinai
Stress, aging, and molecular chaperones
Fang Liu, Associate Professor of Chemical Biology,
EMSP/CABM; Ph.D., Harvard
Signal transduction and gene regulation, growth, and
differentiation control
Peter Lobel, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS/CABM;
Ph.D., Columbia
Hereditary neurodegenerative diseases; functional genomics;
lysosomes; protein targeting
Kiran Madura, Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Ph.D.,
Rochester
Ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis in signal transduction
pathways in yeast
Pal Maliga, Professor of Genetics, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Hungarian
Academy of Sciences
Molecular genetics of plastids; plastid engineering;
regulation of plastid gene expression
Paul Manowitz, Professor of Psychiatry, RWJMS; Ph.D.,
Brandeis
Biochemical and molecular biological studies of human
behavior
Tara Matise, Professor of Genetics, SAS; Ph.D.,
Pittsburgh
Computational genetics
Fumio Matsumura, Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Nagoya (Japan)
Control of cell division; protein phosphorylation;
microfilaments; CDC2 kinase and cyclines; cancer
Randall D. McKinnon, Associate Professor of
Surgery/Neurosurgery, RWJMS; Ph.D., McMaster (Canada)
Developmental neurobiology; neuroncology; growth factors
Richard Mendelsohn, Professor of Chemistry, FAS-N; Ph.D.,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Membrane biophysics; vibrational spectroscopy;
phospholipid/protein interaction; lung surfactants
Joachim W. Messing, University Professor of Molecular
Biology and Director of the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Munich
Molecular and genetic mechanisms of agronomically important
quantitative traits; molecular biology of plant development; regulation of gene
expression in higher plants; plant genomics; bioinformatics
Gaetano T. Montelione, Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS/CABM; Ph.D., Cornell
New NMR methods development; molecular recognition; growth
factors; protein: nucleic acid complexes, structures of RNA-binding proteins, molecular
dynamics, and protein design
William R. Moyle, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Harvard
Structure and function of glycoprotein hormones and their
receptors
Vikas Nanda, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS/CABM; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins
Protein evolution and folding; computational de novo design
of proteins and biomimetics
Bryce E. Nickels, Associate Professor of Genetics, SAS/WIM;
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 K. Olson, Mary I. Bunting Professor of Chemistry, SAS;
Ph.D., Stanford
Biopolymer conformation and properties
Richard W. Padgett, Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
Signal transductions; microRNAs in cancer; developmental
biology; Drosophila and C. elegans
Smita Patel, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D.,
Tufts
Dynamics of molecular motors in genome replication and
transcription
George Pieczenik, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS;
Ph.D., New York
Theory of genotypic selection; nucleotide sequence analysis;
combinatorial phage display; identification and characterization of
nonpathogenic strains of HIV; temporal analysis of Land color phenomena
John Pintar, Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D.,
Oregon
Insulin-like growth factors in early mammalian development;
development of the pituitary gland
Vincenzo Pirrotta, Professor and Chair of Molecular Biology
and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Harvard
Chromatin structure and dynamics; polycomb silencing
mechanisms; epigenetic mechanisms; developmental gene regulation; genomic
programming; Drosophila genetics
Arnold B. Rabson, Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Director, Child Health Institute; M.D., Brown
Gene regulation in cancer; human retroviral infections
Charles Roth, Professor of Chemical and
Biochemical Engineering, SE; Ph.D., Delaware
Gene-based therapeutics; bioinformatics and systems biology;
hepatocyte differentiation; novel strategies for treatment of brain tumors
Monica Roth, Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Ph.D.,
Albert Einstein
Retroviruses: integration, reverse transcriptase, envelope
proteins, gene therapy, targeted entry, structural studies
Melitta Schachner, Professor of Cell Biology and
Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D., Max Planck Institute for Biology (Germany)
Formation of appropriate connections among nerve cells
Konstantin Severinov, Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Russian Academy of Sciences
Genetic and biochemical analysis of RNA polymerases from E.
coli and yeast; site-directed modification of proteins
Daniel Shain, Professor of Zoology, FAS-C; Ph.D.,
Colorado State
Osteoporosis, bone metabolism, and obesity
Navin K. Sinha, Associate Professor of Genetics, SAS; Ph.D.,
Minnesota
Accuracy of DNA replication; chemical carcinogenesis
Ruth Steward, Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Basel (Switzerland)
Pattern formation in Drosophila
Ann Stock, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS/CABM;
Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Structure/function analysis of signal transduction proteins
Roger Strair, Professor of Medicine, CINJ/RWJMS; M.D.,
Ph.D., Albert Einstein
Hemotopoietic malignancies; stem cell transplantation
Nanjoo Suh, Associate Professor of Chemical Biology, EMSP;
Ph.D., Illinois (Chicago)
Mechanistic study of cancer prevention and inflammation; natural/synthetic
agents
Theodorus van Es, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D.,
Witwatersrand (South Africa)
Carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry; the application of
modified glycosidases in the synthesis of glycosides; synthetic applications of
modified enzymes in organic solvent media
Andrew K. Vershon, Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Transcriptional regulation in yeast
William G. Wadsworth, Professor of Pathology, RWJMS/CABM; Ph.D., Missouri (Columbia)
Extracellular matrix and the guidance of cell migrations in C.
elegans
Nancy C. Walworth, Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS;
Ph.D., Yale
Cell cycle checkpoint control in response to DNA damage
William W. Ward, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS;
Ph.D., Johns Hopkins
Protein and peptide biochemistry; applications of
bioluminescence
Eileen P. White, Professor of Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, SAS/CINJ; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
Oncogenes; tumor suppressor genes; apoptosis; autophagy;
cancer metabolism
Lori White, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS;
Ph.D., Dartmouth
Molecular mechanisms of xenobiotic-induced pathologies
Donald A. Winkelmann, Professor of Pathology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Wisconsin (Madison)
Protein structure; molecular motors; protein engineering;
macromolecular assembly; muscle contraction
Nancy A. Woychik, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Wisconsin (Madison)
Aging; viral/bacterial pathogenesis; cancer
Bing Xia, Associate
Professor of Radiation Oncology, CINJ; Ph.D., Rutgers/UMDNJ
DNA
repair; homologous recombination; breast cancer Fanconi anemia
Mengqing Xiang, Professor of Pediatrics, RWJMS/CABM;
Ph.D., Texas (Houston)
Molecular bases of sensorineural development;
transcriptional regulation of retinal and inner ear development
Chung S. Yang, Professor of Chemical Biology, EMSP; Ph.D.,
Cornell
Molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and its prevention
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, RWJMS; M.D., Ph.D., Albert Einstein
Assembly, structure, and function of basement membranes
Miguel Zaratiegui, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemstry, SAS; Ph.D., Navarra (Spain)
Chromatin dynamics; heterochromatin; RNA interference; transposons; silencing; replication; genome integrity; fission yeast genetics
Helmut Zarbl, Professor of Environment and Occupational Medicine, RWJMS; Ph.D., McGill
Mammary carcinogenesis; lung carcinogenesis; mechanisms of toxicity; genetic susceptibility; toxiogenomics; tumor suppressor genes; functional genomics
Barbara A. Zilinskas, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS;
Ph.D., Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
Plant molecular biology and biochemistry
Gerben Zylstra, Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS/BCAE; Ph.D., Michigan
Molecular and biochemical basis for microbial aromatic
hydrocarbon degradation
Associate Member of the Graduate Faculty
Mary Konsolaki, Associate Research Professor of Genetics,
SAS; Ph.D., Crete (Greece)
Analysis of toxicity associated with Alzheimer's
beta-amyloid, using Drosophila as a model system
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Programs, Faculty, and Courses 
