Biochemistry at ASU

Biochemistry researchers at ASU are studying and mimicking the fundamental structures and functions of biological systems, ranging from the extremely complex membrane-bound photosynthetic reaction center to the structural and functional organization of chromatin and telomeres. Ongoing projects include studies of the catalytic mechanism of metalloenzymes, the generation of color in fluorescent proteins, the investigation of biophysical processes at the single molecule level, de novo design of proteins and the construction of artificial photosynthetic systems and light driven "bio-machines". Biochemistry students collaborate with colleagues in plant and cellular biology, organic chemistry, physics and engineering. Interdisciplinary projects are designed to interface biological systems with electronic and nanotechnological devices or to study the origin and evolution of metabolic systems. Students have access to a unique range of sophisticated equipment and expertise for the study of macromolecules, including a state-of-the-art protein chemistry and mass spectrometry facility, protein X-ray crystallography, ultrafast time-resolved laser spectroscopy, as well as high-resolution electron and scanning probe microscopies.

	James Allen Professor Protein structure and function, X-Ray crystallography, photosynthesis, bacterial cofactors		John Chaput Assistant Professor De novo protein evolution, in vitro selections, mRNA display, synthetic antibodies, TNA aptamers
	Jiunn-Liang (Julian) Chen Assistant Professor Structure, function and evolution of ribonucleoprotein complexes, RNA-protein interactions, telomerase biogenesis and mechanism		Wilson Francisco Associate Professor Enzyme mechanisms and catalysis, enzymology, molecular biology, protein crystallography
	Petra Fromme Professor Structural biochemistry and biophysics, membrane proteins, X-Ray crystallography, photosynthesis, molecular biology		Giovanna Ghirlanda Assistant Professor De-novo protein design and engineering, enzyme mechanisms, protein structure
	Mark Hayes Associate Professor Bioanalytical chemistry, microfluidics, ultrasmall volume fluid movements and analysis		Anne Jones Assistant Professor Bioinorganic chemistry, electrochemistry, hydrogenases, de novo protein design and engineering, redox enzyme mechanisms, alternative energy generation.
	Marcia Levitus Assistant Professor Biophysical chemistry, photophysics, single-molecule fluorescence, DNA-protein dynamics.		Stuart Lindsay Professor Scanning probe microscopy, molecular electronics, molecular biophysics, nano-scale self-assembly
	Yan Liu Assistant Professor Nanoparticles synthesis and functionalization DNA directed self-assembly Multi-component complex structure.		Thomas A. Moore Professor Photosynthesis, protonmotive force, proton and electron transfer, photochemistry, photobiology, bioenergy, biocatalysis, sustainable energy, dye sensitized semiconductors
	Michael Thorpe Foundation Professor Protein conformations and pathways, theory of disordered systems, computational methods, mathematical theory of networks		Arjan Van der Vaart Assistant Professor Computational chemistry, molecular dynamics, protein folding, DNA binding proteins, bacteriological toxins
	Rebekka Wachter Assistant Professor Protein post-translational modifications, Macromolecular X-ray crystallography, Protein-based chromophores, Enzyme mechanisms		Neal Woodbury Professor Photosynthesis, biophysics, DNA/protein complexes, nucleosomes, optically directed molecular evolution
	Hao Yan Assistant Professor Design and assembly of biologically inspired nanomaterials, DNA nanostructures, nanoelectronics, biomolecular imaging		Jeff Yarger Professor Solid-state NMR and MRI, soft matter research, disordered materials, biopolymers, battery and fuel cell materials, polyamorphism, nano-materials, high-pressure chemistry, quantum computation, laser scattering spectroscopy, neutron, electron and xray diffraction of amorphous materials

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