Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

Box G-L207, Providence, RI 02912
Phone: (401) 863-1654

The Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry is the largest on-campus department in the Division of Biology and Medicine. We offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses that form the core of modern experimental biology. Our faculty offer training in genetics, biochemistry, developmental biology, cellular biology, molecular biology, genomics, and proteomics. Departmental research employs state of the art optical tools such as electron and confocal scanning microscopy, physical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, and innovative techniques in molecular biology. The Department is devoted to cutting-edge research that addresses basic questions in biology, including the control of gene expression, cell fate determination, protein synthesis, the genetics of behavior, control of the cell cycle, signaling pathways within the cell, and the role of prions in cellular activity. A distinguished faculty, well-represented on editorial and professional boards and societies, directs undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral work in the Department.

Courses Offered*

Faculty - Who We Are and What We Do

Walter Atwood, PhD, Professor. Virus-receptor interactions; neuropathogenic viruses.

Judith Bender, PhD, Professor. Mechanisms of gene silencing, determinants of transcription factor specificity, and metabolic engineering in Arabidopsis.

Alexander Brodsky, PhD, Assistant Professor. Systems of biology of post-transcriptional regulation, steroid hormone control of cancer.

Robbert Creton, PhD, Assistant Professor (Research). The molecular and celluar physiology of early embryonic development.

Albert Dahlberg, MD, PhD, Professor. Ribosomes and ribosomal RNA structure and function.

Alison DeLong, PhD, Associate Professor. Protein phosphorylation and signal transduction in Arabidopsis .

William Fairbrother, PhD, Assistant Professor. Molecular Biology, Computational Biology, Cell Biology, RNA biology, and Gene Expression.

Anne Fausto-Sterling, PhD, Professor. Using principles of development systems theory to understand the emergence of gendered and racialized bodies. Selected topics in the history of early 20th Century biology. Laboratory research examines the dynamics of gender in infant development.

Richard Freiman, Assistant Professor. Chromatin and transcriptional control; regulation of tissue specific gene expression in the mouse reproductive system.

Susan Gerbi, PhD, Professor. RNA-RNA interactions (rRNA, U3 snRNA, 7SL of SRP); chromosome structure and DNA replication; molecular evolution.

Jody Hall, Teaching Associate & Manager, Undergraduate Laboratories.

Stephen Helfand, MD/PhD, Professor. Molecular genetics of aging and longevity.

Peter Heywood, PhD, Professor. Literature surveys, particularly in the area of agricultural biotechnology, sustainable agriculture, and food production.

Gerwald Jogl, PhD Assistant Professor. Protein crystallography, post-translational ribsome modification, autophagy, signal-transduction pathways.

Mark Johnson, PhD, Assistant Professor. Molecular genetic analysis of plant reproductive development: Mechanisms of targeted pollen tube growth in Arabidopsis.

Arthur Landy, PhD, Professor. Mechanism  of site-specific recombination; protein-DNA interactions; structure of higher-order protein-DNA complexes.

Jeffrey Laney, PhD, Assistant Professor. Role of proteolysis in the dynamics of gene expression.

Michael McKeown, PhD, Professor. Behavioral genetics in Drosophila.

Kenneth Miller, PhD, Professor. Cell structure; membrane structure and composition; electron microscopy.

Eric Morrow, MD, Assistant Professor of Biology and Psychiatry. Investigates the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying disorders of cognitive development.

Kimberly Mowry, PhD, MPH, Professor, Department Chair. mRNA localization during oogenesis; Xenopus development.

Robert Reenan, PhD, Professor. Evolution of brain function and behavior. Our primary model system is Drosophila, the fruit fly, for its powerful traditional and molecular genetics. Our main question is: How do genomes encode and regulate proteins involved in rapid electrical and chemical signaling in the brain, normally and in disease?

Arthur Salomon, PhD, Assistant Professor. Exploitation of emerging proteomic technologies to probe cellular signaling networks; development of bioinformatics tools to distill data generated in modern protemics experiments.

John Sedivy, PhD, Professor. Aging of mammals, replicative cellular senescence, cell cycle control.

Tricia Serio, PhD, Associate Professor. Prion propagation; translation termination.

Marjorie Thompson, PhD, Associate Professor, Associate Dean of Biological Sciences (Undergraduate Education). Biological and medical illustration.

Gary Wessel, PhD, Professor. Primordial germ cell development; Biology of multi-potent stem cells; Cell and molecular biology of fertizalization..

Kristi Wharton, PhD, Associate Professor. Role of growth factors and signal transduction in cell fate determination and differentiation during development; Drosophila developmental genetics.

Mark Zervas, PhD, Assistant Professor. How dopamine neuron circuits develop, how and when the loss of dopamine neurons of a distinct genetic lineage affects brain function, mechanisms of specifying/maintaining dopamine neurons and cell-based therapies to ameliorate deficits in genetically altered mice with features of neurological disorders.

Recent Student Projects

• Sites of BUP signaling important in cell and organ growth.
• Mutations in the linker region of Lambda Integrase influence the protein's ability to bind Arm-Type DNA.
• Identification of Raf-1 Kinase direct substrates using a combined genetic and chemical approach.
• The role of BMP signaling factors in oogenisis.
• Funtional genomic screening of cellular localization.
• Structural Analysis of Hematopoietic Tyrosine Phosphatase.
• Calcium-dependent molecular mechanisms control fluid flow in Kupffer's Vesicle and brain laterlization in Zebrafish.
• Investigating th export of Ribsomes out of the nucleus.
• The Cul3-PD1P1 Ubiquiting Ligase Complex Targets p21 for degradation of mammalian cells
• Autophagy and aging: down-regulating autophagy in the nervious system and fat body of D. melanogaster
• The rose of steroid hormones in DNA amplification in Sciara Coprophila.
• Mechanisms of develpment in the Zebrafish heart and brain.
• The role of calcium binding proteins calmondulin and calreticulin in development.
• PP2A; transmission, development and fertilization in single and multiple protein phosphatose 2A mutants.
• Creating an anthology of genes involved in bone development in humans.
• Examining estrogene-dependent regulation by TAF46 in the mammalian ovary.
• DNA puff amplification in the fly sciara: a path to understanding re-replication control.
  
• The effects of Fox-o and Thor pathways with calorie restriction on D. melanogaster.
• The identification and characterization of conserved nucleotide elements in Ribosomal RNA
• A new approach for quantitative prospho proteomic dissection of signalling pathways applied to T-celll receptor activation.
• Dissecting the genetics of courtship and sexual differentiation in D. melanogaster.
• An analysis of Eukaryotic Ribosomal protein L32 and Ribosomal RNA in Ribosome biogenesis and cell cycle control.
• Genetic dissection of the lineage and function of Gbx2 expressing cells during spinal cord development.
• PL10 gene expression in the sea urchin, Stronglyocentrotus Purpuratus.

Office of Biology Undergraduate Affairs
97 Waterman Street, Room 124
Phone: (401) 863-3814
Fax: (401) 863-7411
Email: Marjorie_Thompson@brown.edu