Cell & Molecular Biology Faculty

SANFORD I. BERNSTEIN, Ph.D., Wesleyan University (1979). Professor of Biology. Molecular analysis of gene expression during Drosophila muscle development; molecular and ultrastructural defects of Drosophila muscle mutants; function of muscle proteins isoforms; mechanism of alternative RNA splicing. MS and PhD student mentor.

RICHARD BIZZOCO, Ph.D., Indiana University (1972). Professor of Biology. Discovery/isolation of new Archaea; membrane fusion in single cell algae. MS and PhD student mentor.

MICHAEL J. BUONO, Ph.D., University of Arizona (1982). Professor of Biology and Exercise and Nutritional Science. Thermoregulation and body temperature control; Exercise physiology; Eccrine sweat gland physiology; Cardiovascular dynamics. MS student mentor.

KELLY S. DORAN, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego (1998). Assistant Professor of Biology. Host-Pathogen interactions.Molecular mechanisms of host cell invasion by bacterial pathogens and characterization of the host innate immune response during disease progression. MS and PhD student mentor.

ROBERT EDWARDS, Ph.D. University of Sussex, England (1994). Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Annotation of microbial genomes; bioinformatics of random community genomes (metagenomes). MS and PhD student mentor.

RALPH FEUER, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno, 1999. Assistant Professor of Biology. Autoimmune diseases associated with a previous viral infection. Mechanisms of enteroviral persistence and pathogenesis. Susceptibility of stem cells to virus infection and coxsackievirus-associated neonatal disease. MS and PhD student mentor.

TERRENCE G. FREY, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (1975). Professor of Biology. Structure of biological macromolecules and macromolecular assemblies; membranes and membrane proteins; bioenergetics; electron microscopy; image processing. MS and PhD student mentor. MS and PhD student mentor.

CHRISTOPHER GLEMBOTSKI, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (1979). Associate Dean of the Graduate Division and Professor of Biology. Regulation of cardiac-specific gene expression; mechanisms of cardiac myocyte derived hormone secretion. MS and PhD student mentor. 

ROBERTA A. GOTTLIEB, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (1984). Professor of Biology, and Director of the BioScience Center. Myocardial ischemia and programmed cell death; mitochondrial alterations,bioenergetics, autophagy, calpains; role of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases in ischemia/reperfusion injury; studies at the organismal, isolated organ, primary cells, and molecular levels; live cell fluorescence microscopy, TAT-mediated protein transduction. MS and PhD student mentor.

GREG L. HARRIS, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1981). Professor of Biology. Molecular and physiological analysis of phototransduction in Drosophila; biophysical analysis of ion channel function; isolation of neuron- specific genes. MS and PhD student mentor. 

TOM HUXFORD, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego (2001). Assistant Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry. Structural biology of proteins and protein complexes involved in signaling to NF-kappaB. MS and PhD student mentor.

MARINA G. KALYUZHNAYA, Ph.D., IBPM, Russian Academy of Sciences (2000). Assistant Professor. Methane biocatalysis; Microbial genetics, physiology and biochemistry; Systems biology, metabolic modeling and engineering; Functional diversity of microbial methane cycle and environmental impacts of climate change.

SCOTT T. KELLEY, Ph.D., University of Colorado (1998). Assistant Professor of Biology. Phylogenetic approaches to RNA structure prediction, DNA and protein motif pattern recognition, and genome sequence analysis. Molecular systematics studies of insect and microbial communities. MS and PhD student mentor.

DAVID A. LIPSON, Ph.D., University of Colorado (1998). Assistant Professor of Biology. Soil microbial ecology; plant-microbe interactions; 
biogeochemistry; linking microbial diversity to ecosystem processes.
MS and PhD student mentor.

JOHN LOVE, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego (1998).   Department of Chemistry.  Protein Engineering: Driving novel protein/protein associations by computational and experimental design.  MS and PhD student mentor.

STANLEY MALOY, Ph.D. University of California, Irvine (1981).  Professor of Biology.  Research focuses on Salmonella, using a combination of genetic, molecular,   biochemical, and genomic approaches to answer questions about general biological processes, and questions that relate to the evolution of pathogenesis.  MS and PhD student mentor.

SHELLI R. McALPINE, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (1997). Associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Medicinal chemistry and chemical biology: discovery of new small molecules and their mechanism of action against cancer. Development of new chemotherapuetics. MS student mentor.

KATHLEEN MCGUIRE, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (1985). Professor of Biology. Human Immunology: immune responses to cancer and vaccine development. MS and PhD student mentor.

ROBERT METZGER, Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry. Enzymes of carbohydate metabolism, Diabetes mellitus, protein browning (Maillard) reactions, natural products. MS student mentor.

PAUL J. PAOLINI, Ph.D., University of California, Davis (1968). Professor of Biology. Physiology and mechanics of cardiac and skeletal muscle cells: biophysical methods, including video-enhanced and automated light microscopy, optic diffractometry, digital image analysis and x-ray microscopy; muscle cell ultrastructure; computer applications to biological research. MS and PhD student mentor. 

JACQUES PERRAULT, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego (1972). Professor of Biology. Molecular biology of RNA viruses using vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) as a model for Ebola, measles, and other medically important agents; engineering of virus vectors for protein expression and gene therapy; host cell antiviral mechanisms; methods for inactivating bioterrorism virus agents. MS and PhD student mentor. 

ROBERT POZOS, Ph.D. Department of Biology.

JENNIFER QUINTANA, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Public Health. Human exposure assessment to chemical agents in the work environment, respiratory protection in industry, indoor air quality. MS student mentor.

FOREST ROHWER, PhD.  San Diego State University. (1997).  Associate Professor of Biology. Genomic analysis of marine phage, opportunistic infections and coral disease, diversity of coral-associated bacteria. MS and PhD student mentor.

THOMAS SCOTT, Ph.D., Duke University (1970). Dean, College of Sciences and Professor of Psychology. Neural coding of taste activity and the neural bases of eating and reward, using single neuron recording techniques to investigate the nature of the neural code by which taste stimuli are identified in rodents and primates. MS and PhD student mentor.

ANCA SEGALL, Ph.D., University of Utah (1987). Professor of Biology. DNA recombination and chromosome structure. MS and PhD student mentor. 

WILLIAM E. STUMPH, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology (1979). Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Regulation of transcription in eukaryotic cells; characterization of genes encoding the small nuclear RNAs U1, U2, and U4; identification and characterization of cis-acting and trans-acting factors; sequence-specific protein-DNA interactions and assembly of the transcriptional complex. MS and PhD student mentor. 

MARK A. SUSSMAN, Ph.D., University of Southern California (1989). Professor of Biology. Structural and molecular basis of heart failure, regenerative medicine involving adult stem cells for myocardial repair, and survival signaling to enhance resistance to cell death and pathological injury involving cell survival and preservation of mitochondrial integrity. MS and PhD student mentor.

CONSTANTINE D. TSOUKAS, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco (1975). Professor of Biology. Proteins involved in differentiation and function of lymphocytes with special emphasis on human T-cells and thymocytes; use of monoclonal antibodies and hybridization techniques to study T-cell development. MS and PhD student mentor. 

PETER van der GEER, Ph.D., University of Amsterdam (1993). Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Molecular, biological and biochemical analysis of signal transduction by protein-tyrosine kinases. MS and PhD student mentor.

ELIZABETH WATERS, Ph.D., Washington University (1993). Assistant Professor of Biology. Plant evolution. The origin of Land Plants. Molecular evolution. MS and PhD student mentor. 

ROLAND WOLKOWICZ, PhD. The Weizmann Institute of Science (1998). Assistant Professor of Biology. Use of random peptide libraries and other chemical genetics approaches for the study of viral pathogenesis and the search of antiviral factors. Main focus on HIV-1. MS and PhD student mentor.

RICARDO M. ZAYAS, Ph.D. Tufts University (2003). Assistant Professor of Biology. Stem cell biology. Molecular mechanisms underlying regeneration of the nervous system in planarians. MS and PhD student mentor.

ROBERT W. ZELLER, , Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 1995. Associate Professor of Biology. The developmental biology of ascidians; the evolution of developmental gene regulatory networks in primitive chordates. MS and PhD student mentor.

Adjunct Faculty

KEVIN A. KROWN, Ph.D. University of Arizona (1990). Myocardial effects of sepsis and diabetes: Physiological, cellular and molecular changes in response to disease; mechanisms of action of cardio protective agents; measurements of contractility, intracellular calcium, signal transduction and hormone secretion.

KIM FINLEY, PhD. University of California, San Diego (1993). Associate Research Professor, Donald P. Shiley Bioscience Center. Macroautophagy pathway molecular genetics, neural aging, protein aggregate biology and cytotoxicity, insulin signaling, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, circadian cycle, sleep and geotaxis behavioral studies, transcriptome profiling, and identification of anti-aging compounds and therapies.

BRUCE R. ITO, Ph.D. University of Washington (1983).
Research Professor, Donald P Shiley BioScience Center. Myocardial ischemia/ infarction, cardiac remodeling, cardioprotective mechanisms and therapies, cardiac autophagy, effects of metabolic syndrome on cardiovascular disease.

PHYLLIS-JEAN LINTON, Ph.D. Syracuse University (1984).
Research Professor, Donald P Shiley BioScience Center. Immune function in the aged with an emphasis on dendritic cell/macrophage, and T cell alterations; relationship between autophagy and inflammation in infection and the ischemic heart.

ROBERT M. MENTZER, JR., M.D. University of Maryland (1972).
Research Professor, Director Translational Research Donald P Shiley BioScience Center. Myocardial ischemia, myocardial protection, ischemia/reperfusion injury, ventricular remodeling, autophagy, cardiac mechanics, adenosine, metabolic syndrome. Studies involve in vitro and in vivo small and large animal preparations.

EDWARD L. MORGAN Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley (1978).
Research Professor, Donald P Shiley Biosciences Center. Utilization of naturally occurring mediators (biological response modifiers) to improve vaccine development, design of new therapeutics for the treatment of antibiotic resistant bacteria (MRSA) as well as viral ( Hepatitis C and HIV) and fungal (Valley Fever) diseases in both young and aged individuals.  Military applications for the treatment of infections in the battlefield as well as bio-terrorism.

JOY A. PHILLIPS Ph.D., Albany Medical Center of Union University (1991). Research Associate Professor, Donald P Shiley Biosciences Center.
Innate immune protection; universal influenza protection; respiratory disease and recovery; role of the immune system in non-immunological diseases; dermal immunity; novel drug/vaccine delivery; autoimmune disease pathogenesis and therapy

MARILYN L. THOMAN Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley (1978).
Research Professor, Donald P Shiley Bioscience Center. Immunology, T cell development, senescence, interactions between innate and acquired immunity in pulmonary disease, cytokines, immune regulation by miRNA, innate memory

ELIZABETH L. VIRTS Ph.D. Purdue University (1985).
Research Assistant Professor, Donald P Shiley Bioscience Center. Molecular events regulating age-related changes in early T-cell development, miRNA control of gene expression, mode of action of immunostimulatory antimicrobial peptides.

Emeritus Faculty

MICHAEL DOWLER, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara (1967). Emeritus Professor of Biology. Molecular evolution and the Origin of Life, particulary chemogenesis at deep sea ocean vents.

KATHLEEN M. FISHER, Ph.D., University of California, Davis (1969). Professor of Biology. Biology /genetics /science education. Learning for meaningful understanding. Use of knowledge representation tools to support knowledge construction. Center for Research in Mathematics & Science Education (& Department of Biology)

SKAIDRITE KRISANS, Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1968). Emeritus Professor of Biology. Role of peroxisomes in regulation of lipid metabolism: enzymes responsible for peroxisomal side-chain oxidation of cholesterol; significance of peroxisomal bile acid synthesis in vivo; characterization of peroxisomal HMG-CoA reductase.

ROGER SABBADINI, Ph.D., University of California, Davis. Emeritus Professor of Biology. The role of sphingolipid second messengers in disease, including cancer inflammation and heart disease. Animal and human studies of heart disease and cancer. Developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of sphingolipid-related diseases.

MOSELIO SCHAECHTER, PhD. Emeritus Professor of Biology. University of Pennsylvania (1954). The role of the cell membrane in DNA synthesis and chromosome segregation. E. coli’s origin of chromosome replication sticks to the cell membrane, but does so only when recently synthesized. Under this condition, this region of the chromosome is half methylated (the old strand is methylated, the new strand not yet). Methylation of this region is much delayed relative to the rest of the DNA.

JUDITH W. ZYSKIND, Ph.D., Iowa State University (1968). Emeritus Professor of Biology. Molecular mechanisms controlling the rate of duplication of genetic information in bacteria and its coordination with cell growth and division.