# Faculty

**Source**: https://biology.mit.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty/?research-area%5B%5D=biochemistry-biophysics-and-structural-biology
**Parent**: https://biology.mit.edu/faculty-and-research/areas-of-research/biochemistry-biophysics-and-structural-biology/

Research AreasBiochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural BiologyCancer BiologyCell BiologyComputational BiologyGeneticsHuman DiseaseImmunologyMicrobiologyNeurobiologyStem Cell and Developmental BiologyLocationsBroad InstituteBuilding 68 - Koch Biology BuildingKoch Institute for Integrative Cancer ResearchNeuroscience ComplexRagon Institute of MGH, MIT and HarvardWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

### [Tania A. Baker](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/tania-a-baker/)

Tania Baker’s current research explores mechanisms and regulation of enzyme-catalyzed protein unfolding, ATP-dependent protein degradation, and remodeling of the proteome during cellular stress responses.

### [David Bartel](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/david-bartel/)

David Bartel studies molecular pathways that regulate eukaryotic gene expression by affecting the stability or translation of mRNAs.

### [Stephen Bell](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/stephen-bell/)

Stephen Bell probes the cellular machinery that replicates and maintains animal cell chromosomes.

### [Laurie A. Boyer](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/laurie-a-boyer/)

Co-Undergrad Officer

Laurie A. Boyer investigates the gene regulatory mechanisms driving cardiac cell fate, and how faulty regulation impacts regeneration and disease.

### [Christopher Burge](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/christopher-burge/)

Christopher Burge applies a combination of experimental and computational approaches to understand the regulatory codes underlying pre-mRNA splicing and other types of post-transcriptional gene regulation.

### [Lindsay Case](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/lindsay-case/)

Lindsay Case studies how molecules are concentrated and organized at the plasma membrane to regulate transmembrane signaling.

### [Iain M. Cheeseman](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/iain-m-cheeseman/)

Associate Dept. Head

Iain Cheeseman analyzes the process by which cells duplicate, focusing on how the molecular machinery that segregates the chromosomes is rewired across diverse physiological contexts.

### [Joseph (Joey) Davis](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/joseph-joey-davis/)

Joseph Davis develops and applies new structural (cryoEM/ET) and biochemical methods to dissect how macromolecular machines such as ribosomes and autophagy complexes are dynamically assembled, regulated, and degraded to maintain cellular homeostasis.

### [Catherine Drennan](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/catherine-drennan/)

Catherine Drennan takes “snapshots” of metalloenzymes using crystallography and/or cryo-electron microscopy.

### [Gerald R. Fink](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/gerald-r-fink/)

Gerald R. Fink investigates how fungal pathogens invade the body, evade the immune system, and establish an infection.

### [Whitney Henry](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/whitney-henry/)

Whitney Henry studies ferroptosis in human health and disease with a focus on cancer.

### [Yunha Hwang](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/yunha-hwang/)

Yunha Hwang combines machine learning and experimentation to study the biochemistry, ecology and evolution of microbial systems.

### [Barbara Imperiali](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/barbara-imperiali/)

Barbara Imperiali studies the biogenesis and myriad functions of glycoconjugates in human health and disease.

### [Ankur Jain](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/ankur-jain/)

Ankur Jain investigates the role of RNA self-assembly in cellular organization and neurodegenerative disease.

### [Amy E. Keating](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/amy-e-keating/)

Department Head

Amy E. Keating determines how proteins make specific interactions with one another and designs new, synthetic protein-protein interactions.

### [Monty Krieger](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/monty-krieger/)

Monty Krieger studies cell surface receptors and cholesterol and their impact on normal physiology and diseases, such as heart disease and infertility.

### [Rebecca Lamason](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/rebecca-lamason/)

Rebecca Lamason investigates what happens when cellular functions are hijacked by unwanted interlopers: namely, the bacteria that engender diseases like spotted fever and meningitis.

### [Michael T. Laub](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/michael-t-laub/)

Michael T. Laub explores how bacterial cells process information and regulate their own growth and proliferation, as well as how these information-processing capabilities have evolved.

### [Gene-Wei Li](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/gene-wei-li/)

Associate Dept. Head

Gene-Wei Li investigates how quantitative information regarding precise proteome composition is encoded in and extracted from bacterial genomes.

### [Sergey Ovchinnikov](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/sergey-ovchinnikov/)

Sergey Ovchinnikov studies protein structure and evolution at environmental, organismal, genomic, structural, and molecular scales.

### [Robert T. Sauer](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/robert-t-sauer/)

Professor Emeritus

Before closing his lab, Bob Sauer studied intracellular proteolytic machines responsible for protein-quality control and homeostasis.

### [Thomas U. Schwartz](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/thomas-u-schwartz/)

Thomas U. Schwartz investigates communication across biological membranes, using structural, biochemical, and genetic tools.

### [Phillip A. Sharp](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/phillip-a-sharp/)

Professor Emeritus

Before closing his lab, Phillip A. Sharp studied many aspects of gene expression in mammalian cells, including transcription, the roles of non-coding RNAs, and RNA splicing.

### [Yadira Soto-Feliciano](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/yadira-soto-feliciano/)

Yadira Soto-Feliciano studies chromatin and epigenetic regulation in normal development and cancer.

### [Ron Vale](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/ron-vale/)

Ron Vale is interested in how proteins generate biological movement and intracellular signaling and how these molecular machines adapt when challenged by temperature extremes, drought, or disease.

### [Matthew Vander Heiden](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/matthew-vander-heiden/)

Matthew Vander Heiden is interested in the role that cell metabolism plays in mammalian physiology, with a focus on cancer.

### [Seychelle M. Vos](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/seychelle-m-vos/)

Seychelle M. Vos investigates how genome organization and gene expression are physically coupled across molecular scales.

### [Graham C. Walker](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/graham-c-walker/)

Graham C. Walker studies DNA repair, mutagenesis, and cellular responses to DNA damage, as well as the symbiotic relationship between legumes and nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

### [Jonathan Weissman](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/jonathan-weissman/)

Jonathan Weissman investigates how proteins fold into their correct shape and how misfolding impacts disease and normal physiology, while building innovative tools for exploring the organizational principles of biological systems.

### [Michael B. Yaffe](https://biology.mit.edu/profile/michael-b-yaffe/)

Michael B. Yaffe studies the chain of reactions that controls a cell’s response to stress, cell injury, and DNA damage.