Molecular Biology Research
Software-generated picture of the molecule Molecular Biology and Genetics is the foundation for much modern biological research. This research is advancing rapidly with improved genome sequencing and microarray technologies. Currently, research in molecular biology and genetics is carried out in many labs of the Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology and Biophysics program (link to faculty). Areas of study include synthesis, structure, and function of proteins and nucleic acids, gene expression and its regulation, chromosome structure and function, and developmental genetics. Biological systems include viruses, bacteria, yeast, Drosophila, C. elegans, and mice.


Faculty



Karen Beemon Professor, Department of Biology
Retroviral RNA processing and transport; avian leukosis virus tumorigenesis
Gregory Bowman Assistant Professor, Department of Biophysics
Chromatin structure and nucleosome remodeling
Xin Chen Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Epigenetic regulation of Drosophila germ cell differentiation from a stem cell lineage
Kyle Cunningham Professor, Department of Biology
Calcium signaling and mechanisms of gene expression in yeast
Jocelyne DiRuggiero Associate Research Professor, Department of Biology
Molecular microbial ecology of extremophiles; molecular mechanisms of stress response
Chen-Ming Fan Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology
Staff Member, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Molecular patterning and embryonic induction during mouse early development
Andy Hoyt Professor, Department of Biology
Yeast chromosome segregation with emphasis on mitotic motor proteins; cell cycle regulation
Nicholas Ingolia Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Staff Member, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Translational control of protein synthesis and gene expression
Young-Sam Lee Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Mechanism of nutritional signaling and homeostasis
Elijah Roberts Assistant Professor, Department of Biophysics
Investigating the creation and use of in silico cell models
Joel Schildbach Professor, Department of Biology
Protein-DNA interactions. Structural biology of bacterial conjugation.
Robert Schleif Professor, Department of Biology
Mechanisms of regulation of protein and gene activity
David Zappulla Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
The telomerase RNA-protein complex, chromosomes and aging
Yixian Zheng Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology
Assistant Investigator, HHMI
Staff Member, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Mechanisms of cell division and genome organization in development, homeostasis, and aging