Biophysics & Structural Biology

Biophysics

Research in Biophysics at UVA utilizes quantitative approaches to understand the physical and chemical basis of complex biological processes. Biological processes are studied at every level and across many fields, from the theoretical to the experimental.

The Biophysics Graduate Program at the University of Virginia is one of the oldest in the country. We employ a wide range of experimental and computational approaches in a highly interactive and multidisciplinary environment.  One of our strengths is in the study of membranes, which are of fundamental importance for biological systems. Membranes compartmentalize the cell, thereby controlling the internal cellular environment.  They are sites for energy transduction and signaling.  Finally, many regulatory processes take place at membrane surfaces.

Students in biophysics at UVA gain a strong foundation in biophysical approaches and analysis through innovative research and didactic coursework.

Structural Biology

structural biology data graphicResearch in Structural Biology at UVA seeks to acquire a thorough understanding of biological function by gaining a detailed knowledge of the structure of the macromolecules that comprise the machinery of life.Students interested in Structural Biology pursue research designed to determine the 3D structures of proteins and nucleic acids using a variety of methods, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, x-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.  Through the use of these different structural methodologies, we are able to gain unique and complementary information about the structure of macromolecules.  These structures, in turn, provide important insights into the molecular basis of function and provide a framework for the design of experiments to address biological processes involving the macromolecules under investigation.  Structures of medically relevant targets can also play a critical role in accelerating the process of drug design through the use of structure-based lead compound discovery.

Structural biology laboratories at the University of Virginia have established strengths in integral membrane proteins, structural genomics, cell signaling factors, as well as macromolecular assemblies such virus particles and filaments.

Faculty

  • Ai, Huiwang

    Molecular Biosensors; Spatiotemporal Regulation of Biological Signaling; Protein Engineering for Imaging, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics

  • Auble, David T.

    Molecular Mechanisms of Transcriptional Regulation

  • Barrett, Paula Q.

    Regulation of low-voltage activated T-type Ca2+ channel activity by kinases and heterotrimeric G-proteins and their roles in physiological responses.

  • Bekiranov, Stefan

    Physical Modeling of Microarray Hybridization; Analysis of Genomic Tiling Array Data; Bioinformatics; Computational Biology; Regulatory Networks

  • Bourne, Philip E

    Data Science

  • Bushweller, John H.

    Drug Development Targeting Transcription Drivers in Cancer; Structure/Function Studies of Transcription Factor Drivers in Cancer

  • Cafiso, David S.

    Molecular Mechanisms for Membrane Transport and Cell Signaling

  • Columbus, Linda

    Biophysical Chemistry: Membrane protein structure, function, and dynamics

  • Derewenda, Zygmunt S.

    Structure-function relationships in proteins

  • DuBay, Kateri

    The design of self-assembling nanomaterials

  • Egelman, Edward H.

    Structure and Function of Macromolecular Complexes Using Electron Microscopy

  • Felder, Robin A.

    Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology. Medical Automation Research. Neurotransmitters, cell surface receptors and intracellular second messengers.

  • Ford, Roseanne M.

    Bacterial attachment and biofilms, microbial transport in porous media

  • Gahlmann, Andreas

    Super-resolution fluorescence imaging of bacterial cells

  • Guo, Lian-Wang

    Pathophysiological mechanisms and impact of cell state transitions

  • Harris, Tajie H.

    Immune response to infectious disease in the CNS

  • Hsu, Ku-Lung

    Chemical Biology, Lipid Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and Mass Spectrometry

  • Hunt, Donald F.

    Analytical Biochemistry

  • Jomaa, Ahmad

    Localisation of nascent proteins to sub-cellular compartments

  • Kasson, Peter M.

    Physical mechanisms of infectious disease; influenza infection; membrane fusion; antibiotic resistance; molecular dynamics simulation; machine learning.

  • Kedes, Dean H.

    Human Herpes virus associated with malignancy, including Kaposi's Sarcoma

  • Keller, Raymond E.

    Cellular and molecular mechanisms of morphogenesis

  • Landers, James P.

    Bioanalytical Chemistry on Microchips

  • Leitinger, Norbert

    Role of lipid oxidation products in inflammation and vascular immunology in atherosclerosis and diabetes

  • Levental, Ilya

    Composition, Biophysics and Physiology of Cellular Membranes

  • Lu, Xiaowei

    Wnt/PCP signaling in inner ear development Mouse models for human deafness Wnt/PCP signaling in neural tube closure

  • Minor, Wladek

    Structure-Function Relationships in Macromolecules; Infectious Diseases and Drug Discovery; Bioinformatics and Big Data; Scientific Reproducibility

  • Nakamoto, Robert K.

    Structure-Function of Active Transporters

  • Papin, Jason A.

    Systems biology, infectious disease, cancer, toxicology, metabolic engineering

  • Patel, Manoj

    Understanding the cellular mechanisms by which seizures are initiated in SCN8A epileptic encephalopathy (DEE13) and temporal lobe epilepsy. My lab uses a number of experimental techniques including patch clamp electrophysiology and in vivo seizure monitor

  • Peirce-Cottler, Shayn M.

    Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, Computational Systems Biology, Vascular Growth and Remodeling, Stem Cell Therapies

  • Perez-Reyes, Edward

    Exploring epilepsy circuits then preventing seizures using gene therapies. Developing drug-inducible genetic switches for insulin replacement gene therapies.

  • Pompano, Rebecca

    Bioanalytical tools for inflammatory disease

  • Pornillos, Owen

    Structure and assembly of HIV, virus/host interactions, structural biology of the innate immune system

  • Redemann, Stefanie

    Chromosome segregation and aneuploidy in meiosis and mitosis

  • Rekosh, David M.

    Human Immunodeficiency Virus Gene Expression; Human Endogenous Viruses; SARS-CoV-2 Protein Trafficking; Post-transcriptional Gene Regulation

  • Saucerman, Jeffrey J.

    Roles of complex signaling networks involved in the regulation of cardiovascular function and disease

  • Sheynkman, Gloria M.

    Proteoform Systems Biology: proteogenomic approaches to uncover the role of proteomic variation in human disease

  • Somlyo, Avril V.

    Novel signal transduction pathways in smooth muscles that regulate contractility and impact diseases of the vasculature, airway and gastrointestinal tract.

  • Sonkusare, Swapnil

    Identify the calcium signaling abnormalities that lead to vascular dysfunction and blood pressure elevation in cardiovascular disorders

  • Sontheimer, Harald

    Role of Glia in Neurological Illnesses and Cancer

  • Stukenberg, P. Todd

    Mechanisms of chromosome segregation in Mitosis and generation of Chromosomal Instability in tumors

  • Swami, Nathan

    Molecular and bioelectric devices; tissue regeneration.

  • Tamm, Lukas K.

    Biomembrane Structure and Function; Cell Entry of Enveloped Viruses; Neurosecretion by Exocytosis; Structure of Bacterial Pathogen Membrane Proteins; Lipid-Protein Interactions

  • Venton, B. Jill

    Analytical Neurochemistry; Dopamine and Serotonin Neurotransmission in Drosophila; Mechanisms of rapid adenosine signaling in rodents

  • Wiener, Michael C.

    Structure/function of integral membrane proteins; structural biophysics; enzymology and virology of ZMPSTE24; sparse-constraint structure determination; technology development

  • Williams, Mark B.

    Design, Development and Optimization of Medical Imaging Technologies

  • Yeager, Mark

    Cardiac Gap Junction Membrane Channels / Integrins Water Channels / Rotavirus / Reovirus / Retrovirus

  • Zang, Chongzhi

    Bioinformatics methodology development; Epigenetics and chromatin biology; Transcriptional regulation; Cancer genomics and epigenomics; Statistical methods for biomedical data integration; Advanced machine learning; Theoretical and computational biophysic

  • Zimmer, Jochen

    Transport of biopolymers across biological membranes with a particular interest in polysaccharide and protein translocation.