Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program Faculty

The Molecular Biophysics (MOB) Graduate Program faculty are an interdisciplinary group of chemists, biologists, mathematicians, physicists, and engineers. Nine of these faculty members are housed in the Kasha Laboratory Building (KLB), the home of the Institute of Molecular Biophysics. Others have labs located in the other buildings that comprise the science area of campus. However, all are available (unless noted) to serve as major professors for MOB students and all work on some aspect of Biophysics research. Below you will find a short description of the MOB faculty research and links to their homepages.

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MOB Affiliated Faculty  | Professor Emeriti |

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Ashwanth Francis, Assistant Professor of Biological Science; PhD, Scuola Normale Superiore, 2014. Second generation imaging of nuclear/cytoplasmic HIV-1 complexes. AIDS research and human retroviruses. Located in KLB. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Hank Bass, Professor of Biological Science; PhD, North Carolina State University, 1992. Chromosome structure; telomere dynamics: fluorescence in situ hybridization. Located in King Bldg. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Richard Bertram, Professor of Mathematics; PhD, Florida State University, 1993.  Computational structural biology, neuroscience and physiology. Located in KLB. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Christian Bleiholder, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; PhD, Heidelberg University, 2007. Structures and interactions of macromolecules by ion mobility / mass spectrometry. Located in Dittmer Chemistry Lab. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

P. Bryant Chase, Professor of Biological Science; PhD., University of Southern California, 1984. Cellular and molecular biomechanics of cardiac and skeletal muscle. Located in Bio Unit 1. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Jonathan Dennis, Associate Professor of Biological Science; PhD., University College London, 2001. Located in King Bldg.

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Debra A. Fadool, Professor of Biological Science; PhD., University of Florida, 1993. Biophysics of ion channels and metabolic disorders. Located in King Bldg. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Samuel C.Grant, Professor of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, PhD., Univ Illinois, 2001. High magnetic field imaging & spectroscopy of neurological and muscular degeneration in acute and chronic pathology. Located in College of Engineering.

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Steven Lenhert, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, PhD., (Dr. rer. nat.), University of Münster, 2004. Lipid nanotechnology in biosensing and drug delivery. Located in Bio Unit 1. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Hong Li, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Director, Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program (MOB), PhD., Rochester, 1994. Structural mechanisms of gene expression and regulation; protein-RNA interactions. Located in KLB. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Yan Li, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. PhD .Ohio State University, 2002. Stem cell technology and engineering; Tissue engineering and biomaterials; Cell processing and bioprocessing. Located in College of Engineering

Michael Mascagni, Professor of Computer Science, PhD., New York University, 1987. Stochastic computing; applications of Monte Carlo and Quasi-Monte Carlo algorithms in materials science, biochemistry, and physics; and the creation of computational infrastructure to support effective stochastic computing. Located in the Love Building.

Brian Miller, Professor of Chemistry; PhD., Univ North Carolina, 2001. Enzymology, substrate ambiguity and enzyme evolution. Located in Chemical Sciences Laboratory. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

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Jose R Pinto, Professor of Biomedical Science; Ph.D. 2006. Ionic Interventions that Alter the Association of Troponin C C-domain with the Thin Filaments of Vertebrate Striated Muscle. Located in College of Medicine.

Michael Roper, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry; Ph.D. University of Florida, 2003. The Roper lab is developing new technologies to explore the dynamics of glucose regulation. Located in Chemical Sciences Laboratory.

Amy Q.X. Sang, Professor of Chemistry; PhD., Georgetown University, 1990. Cancer and stem cell biomarker; drug discovery; obesity research. Located in Chemical Sciences Laboratory. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Robert Silvers, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; PhD., Goethe-Universitat, Germany, 2012. Structural Biology, ribonucleoproteins, solid-state NMR, unfolded protein response. Located in KLB. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Scott Stagg, Professor of Biological Science; PhD., University of Alabama, Birmingham, 2001. Cryo-electron microscopy studies of the structure of COPII coated vesicles. Located in KLB. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Branko Stefanovic, Professor of Biomedical Sciences; PhD. Molecular mechanisms for regulating RNA stability; collagen synthesis. Located in College of Medicine.

Oliver Steinbock, Professor of Chemistry; PhD., Georg-August University Gottingen, Germany, 1993. Complex and chaotic reaction networks and mechanisms. Located in Chemical Sciences Laboratory.

Douglas Storace, Assistant Professor of Biological Science; PhD., U Connecticut, 2012. Understanding neural coding of sensory signals in the olfactory system using optical imaging. Located in Biomedical Research Facility. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

M. Elizabeth Stroupe, Professor of Biological Science; PhD., Scripps, 2002. Exploring the structure and function of macromolecular machines involved in nuclear processes. Located in KLB.

Geoffrey F. Strouse, Professor of Chemistry; PhD., Univ North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1993. Nanotechnology; optical spectroscopy. Located in Chemical Sciences Laboratory.

Zucai Suo, Professor of Biomedical Science; PhD., Pennsylvania State Univ, 1997. Mechanistic Studies of Nucleic Acid Enzymes and Antiviral Drugs. Located in College of Medicine. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Kenneth A. Taylor, Professor of Biological Science; PhD., University of California at Berkeley, 1975. Muscle contraction; 3D electron microscopy and reconstruction methods. Located in KLB. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Robert J. Tomko Jr., Professor of Biomedical Sciences; PhD., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2008. Assembly and function of the proteasome; multisubunit complexes; protein degradation; drug discovery targeted at multiprotein machines. Located in College of Medicine.

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Roberto Vincis, Assistant Professor of Biological Science; PhD., University Geneva (Switzerland), 2014.  Vincis lab aims to investigate the basis of our ability to decide and plan our eating behaviors and dietary choices. Located in BRF 228. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Wei Yang, Professor of Chemistry; PhD., SUNY Stony Brook, 2001. Simulation and modeling of complex biological phenomena.  Located in KLB. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Qian Yin, Assistant Professor of Biological Science; PhD., Cornell University, New York, 2008. Mechanisms of pathogen-associated molecular patterns recognition, protein X-ray crystallography.  Located in KLB. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Hong-Guo Yu, Professor of Biological Science; PhD., University of Georgia, 2000. Mechanisms of chromosome segregation and cell differentiation. Located in Bio Unit 1. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Yi Zhou, Professor of Biomedical Sciences; PhD., U. Minnesota, 1994. Ion channel regulation; neurological disorders. Located in College of Medicine.

Fanxiu Zhu, Professor of Biological Science; PhD., Wuhan University (China), 1995. Tumor virology; viral immune evasion; tegument of herpesviruses. Located in Bio Unit 1. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

Wen Zhu, Asst. Prof. Chemistry & Biochemistry; PhD., Purdue, 2015. Metallocofactor-dependent enzymes; protein-protein interactions in multidomain enzymes; small molecule drug discovery. Located in CSL. Taking students for 2023-24 rotation.

MOB Affiliated Faculty | Top

Affiliated Faculty may mentor students as co-advisors with MOB Faculty

Cathy W. Levenson, Professor of Biomedical Science & Neuroscience; PhD. University of Chicago, 1993. Metabolism of metals in eukaryotes; metal toxicity. Located in College of Medicine.

James M. Olcese, Professor of Biomedical Sciences; PhD., Marquette University. Circadian physiology; neuroendocrinology; sleep disorders. Located in College of Medicine.

Hengli Tang, Professor of Biological Science; PhD., University of California San Diego, 1998. Virus-host cell interactions; cellular cofactors in HIV and HCV infection. Located in King Building.

Recently Retired Faculty (not accepting students) | Top

Michael Blaber, Professor of Biomedical Sciences; PhD., University of California at Irvine,1990. Protein engineering and design; serine proteases. Located in College of Medicine.

Piotr G. Fajer, Professor of Biological Science and Director, Institute of Molecular Biophysics, PhD., Leeds (England), 1983. Biophysics of motor proteins; EPR spectroscopy. Located in KLB.

Jamila I. Horabin, Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, PhD. Duke, 1987. Long non-coding RNAs and RNA silencing in Drosophila sex determination. Located in College of Medicine.

Timothy M. Logan, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Chair of the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, PhD., University of Chicago, 1991. Metabolism; Metabolomics Located in KLB and Chemical Sciences Laboratory.

Alan G. Marshall, Professor of Chemistry; PhD., Stanford, 1970. Proteomics; protein complexes; lipidomics; Fourier transform ion cycoltron resonance mass spectrometry. Located in Chemical Sciences Bldg and NHMFL.

Kenneth H. Roux, Professor Emeritus of Biological Science; PhD., Tulane, 1974. Molecular immunology; structural analysis of antibodies, antigens and immune complexes; immunochemistry.

Thomas M. Roberts,  Professor Emeritus of Biological Science; PhD., Notre Dame, 1976. Molecular mechanisms involved in amoeboid movement.

De Witt L. Sumners, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Lawton Distinguished Professor; PhD., University of Cambridge (England), 1967. Application of geometry and topology to molecular biology.