Biological Chemistry Faculty
Program Director
Assistant Professor
Faculty
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Transcription and regulation in Clostridioides difficile and other bacterial species; structure and function of RNA polymerase; antibiotics discovery of RNA polymease inhibitors
![Sherry Cao, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/cao-sherry-220320-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Natural product synthesis, synthetic methodology development, small molecule library synthesis and chemical biology
![Chuo Chen, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/chen-chuo-68642-200X200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Gene expression and RNA biogenesis in Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus
![Nicholas Conrad, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/conrad-nicholas-93611-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Engineering proteins and nucleic acids for novel function
![David Corey, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/corey-david-11484-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Regulation of HMG-CoA reductase and sterol metabolism
![Russell DeBose-Boyd, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/debose-boyd-russell-34046-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Transcription control by RNA Polymerase II; assembly and regulation of viral and human transcription complexes; mechanisms of transcription activation in HIV
![Ivan D'Orso, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/dorso-ivan-119298-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Biochemical mechanisms and regulation of intracellular protein degradation; structure and function of intracellular proteases
![George DeMartino, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/demartino-george-11761-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Epigenome engineering; Nucleosome production; Drug discovery; Tumor immunology
![Joshua Gruber, M.D., Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/gruber-joshua-202745-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Metabolism, nutrient signaling, cancer, proteomics, kinases
![Gerta Hoxhaj, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/hoxhaj-gerta-187125-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Membrane Protein, Biochemistry, Structural Biology, Protein Homeostasis, Protein Degradation, Lipid Metabolism
![Daniel Kober, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/kober-daniel-130346-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Understanding and exploiting the molecular foundations of glycoconjugate biosynthesis
![Jennifer Kohler, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/kohler-jennifer-96116-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Probe engineering and targeted drug delivery to islet cells for treating diabetes; Islet biology with an emphasis on functional analysis on zinc signaling and zinc transporters in islet endocrine cells
![Wen Hong Li Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/li-wen-hong-44975-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: The role of hypoxia inducible factors in tumor growth and metastasis
![Weibo Luo, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/luo-weibo-154146-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Genetically engineered mouse models of cancer, chemical and genetic screens for new vulnerabilities in small cell lung cancer and Ewing sarcoma
![David McFadden, M.D., Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/mcfadden-david-14774-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular genetics and biochemical studies of mammalian gene regulation
![Steven McKnight, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/mcknight-steven-14812-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Biochemical and structural study of receptor-mediated endocytosis and the membrane skeleton of the plasma membrane
![Peter Michaely, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/michaely-peter-14923-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms of RNA-mediated gene regulation; Structural and biochemical studies of RNA function
![Yunsun Nam, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/nam-yunsun-137693-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Using chemistry to identify new cancer drug targets
![Deepak Nijhawan, M.D., Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/nijhawan-deepak-19217-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Regulatory mechanisms impacting structure, function and location of glycogen; Molecular consequences of glycogen storage diseases; Development of treatment strategies on molecular basis of the disease pathogenesis; Engineering proteins for improved Gene Therapy
![Felix Nitschke, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/nitschke-felix-187920-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Signal transduction in the microbial pathogen Yersinia pestis
![Kim Orth, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/orth-kim-52806-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Polyamine and pyrimidine metabolism in trypanosomes and in malaria parasites
![Margaret Phillips, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/phillips-margaret-15701-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Protein-lipid interactions at membrane interfaces
![Arun Radhakrishnan, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/radhakrishnan-arun-57962-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Lysosome biology, mTORC1 signaling, lipid metabolism and sensing, organelle communications
![Hijai (Regina) Shin, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/shin-hijai-regina-220057-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Bioactive natural product synthesis; asymmetric catalysis; cancer biology
![Myles Smith, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/smith-myles-182813-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Mitochondrial Biochemistry; Redox Biology; AMPylation; Selenoproteins
![Anju Sreelatha, Ph.D. Anju Sreelatha, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/sreelatha-anju-107260-200x200a.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Synthesis of complex biologically active natural products; development of new tandem methodologies
![Uttam Tambar, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/tambar-uttam-111625-380x380.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms by which starvation leads to persistence in bacteria; Identifying new regulatory metabolite-RNA and metabolite-protein interactions; Peptide synthesis and protein semi-synthesis
![Boyuan Wang, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/wang-boyuan-203119-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Membrane protein trafficking and function; autophagy and its developmental roles; organelle biogenesis and communication
![Fei Wang, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/wang-fei-168116-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Single-molecule, fluorescence microscopy, RNA biochemistry, translational control of gene expression, mitochondrial translation
![Jinfan Wang, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/default-headshot.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Double-stranded DNA tumor viruses (human papillomavirus, human polyomaviruses); circular RNA biogenesis and function; facilitative glucose transporters
![Richard Wang, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/wang-richard-83307-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Cancer biology and development of new therapeutic drugs
![Kenneth Westover, M.D., Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/westover-kenneth-27891-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Geranylgeranylation and HCV replication; regulation of geranylgeranyl lipid homeostasis; regulated intramembrane proteolysis
![Jin Ye, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/ye-jin-18230-200x200.jpg)
Associate Members
These faculty members do not accept graduate students. They participate in teaching, co-mentoring, exam and dissertation committees, and all other program responsibilities.
Professor
Research Interests: Genetics of human disease, Mechanism of vesicular transport in animal cells, Regulation of cholesterol metabolism and membrane composition
![Michael Brown, M.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/brown-michael-10894-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Lipidomics; ocular (bio)chemistry; molecular enzymology; lipoxygenases, lipid peroxidation, and arachidonic acid cascade
![Igor Butovich, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/butovich-igor-66458-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Mass spectrometry, Stable isotope tracers, Metabolic flux
![Xiaorong Fu, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/fu-xiaorong-101844-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms of O2, CO, and NO sensing and in novel signal-transduction heme proteins
![Marie-Alda Gilles-Gonzalez, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/gilles-gonzalez-marie-alda-57464-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Metabolic Syndrome
![Scott Grundy, M.D., Ph.D](https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/grundy-scott-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Biochemistry, Biophysics, Structural biology, cross-beta polymers, phase transition/separation, membrane-less organelle, neurodegenerative diseases
![Default Headshot](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/default-headshot.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Informational carbohydrates in the endoplasmic reticulum: roles in protein folding, stress responses, and human disease
![Mark Lehrman, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/lehrman-mark-14228-200x200.jpg)
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Proteomics, mass spectrometry
![Andrew Lemoff, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/lemoff-andrew-137428-200x200.jpg)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Evolution of biosynthetic diversity; role of polyamines in cellular processes
![Anthony Michael, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/michael-anthony-100703-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Structural characterization of signal-transduction protein complexes, proteins involved in reproductive biology, and novel proteins from pathogenic bacteria; improved methods of crystallographic data collection, processing, and phasing; automated crystallization techniques
![Diana Tomchick, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/tomchick-diana-45730-200x200.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Metabolic Syndrome and obesity, mechanisms of dyslipidemia
![Default image of white and degrees of blue triangles](https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/vega-gloria1.jpg)
Professor
Research Interests: Development of novel chemical leads from high throughput screens, new natural products, or rational target-based chemical design as viable therapeutics for preclinical models; areas explored include pharmacokinetics, formulation, metabolism, toxicology, and efficacy for a variety of disease models, including cancer, bacterial infections, and neurological disorders
![Noelle Williams, Ph.D.](/education/graduate-school/programs/assets/faculty/williams-noelle-19981-200x200.jpg)