Biochemistry

Jöns Jacob Berzelius, in the preface (addressed to Gustav IV Adolf) to the first Swedish edition of Animal Chemistry, 1806, said: "Of all the sciences contributing to medicine, chemistry is the primary one, and, apart from the general light it throws on the entire art of healing, it will soon bestow on some of its branches a perfection such as one never could have anticipated." To this day, Biochemistry provides the interface between the living and non-living worlds. The goals of the Biochemistry research faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences are to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying biological processes, and o examine the relationships between structure and function in biological macromolecules. Our interests include the mechanisms of action of both protein and RNA catalysts, and our studies require state-of-the-art methods ranging from X-ray crystallography, steady-state and single turnover kinetics, protein and nucleic acid purification and analysis, and mathematical modeling.
Transcriptional control
Protein quality control
Host-pathogen Interactions
Computer-aided drug design
Phages and tuberculosis
Ion channel function
DNA replication
Structural biology