Interdisciplinary Programs - Collaborative Research
Joint-Degree Ph.D. Programs
The BMB Department encourages interdisciplinary research to promote synergistic interactions between Biochemistry, Computer Science, Physics, Math, Chemistry, and other physical/quantitative disciplines at MSU. To fill this need, we have initiated joint PhD training programs in Biochemistry and Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, and Biochemistry and Computer Science. Joint Ph.D. degrees with Math are approved on a case by case basis. Students will be immersed in two languages and cultures in performing research at the interface between these disciplines. A primary advisor in Biochemistry and a research advisor in the secondary department mentor each student in his interdisciplinary Ph.D. project; joint Ph.D. degrees with Biochemistry as the secondary area are also possible. See the Guidelines for Interdisciplinary PhD Programs for details. Furthermore, a Quantitative Structural and Systems Biology Training Program is being developed; see http://QBMI.msu.edu for more information.
Interdisciplinary Research Programs
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Collaborative Research Projects
David Arnosti collaborations:
R. William Henry (BMB)- Retinoblastoma protein function in Drosophila
C. Chiu (Mathematics) - Modeling of cis regulatory grammar of short-range repressors
Zach Burton collaborations:
Michael Feig (BMB/CHM) and Maria Zavodszky (BMB)--Analysis of RNA polymerase II elongation using computational methods.
Gong, X.Q., Zhang, C., Feig, M., and Burton, Z.F. Dynamic error correction and regulation of downstream bubble opening by human RNA polymerase II.
Burton, Z.F., Feig, M., Gong, X.Q., Zhang, C., Nedialkov, Y.A., Xiong, Y. NTP-driven translocation and regulation of downstream template opening by multi-subunit RNA polymerases.
Christoph Benning collaborations:
Andreas Weber (PLB) and Michael Garavito (BMB)- Galdieria sulphuraria Genome Project (http://genomics.msu.edu/galdieria/)
Rob Larkin (BMB-PRL) and Lee Kroos (BMB) - Membrane-tethered transcription factors in Arabidopsis DOE-PRL Group Project
Pam Fraker collaborations:
Kate Claycombe (Food Sci Human Nutrition)- Modification of Hematopoiesis and Lymphopoiesis by Obesity.
Jim Pestka (Food Safety and Toxicology)- Modification of mucosal immune defense and induction of inflammation by food toxins.
Michael Garavito, Shelagh Ferguson-Miller, and David Dewitt - collaboration
John Allison (CEM), Christoph Benning (BMB), Kenneth Keegstra (PRL), David Weliky (CEM), Andreas Weber (Plant Bio), Honggao Yan (BMB), Donna Wang (CHM) - REF Center for Structural Biology of Membrane Proteins
Robert Hausinger collaborations:
John McCracken (Chemistry) - Spectroscopic characterization of metalloenzymes by pulsed EPR approaches
Denis Proshlyakov (BMB) - Resonance Raman spectroscopic characterization of high-valent iron-oxo reaction intermediates
Michael Feig (BMB/Chemistry) - Structural modeling of Fe(II)/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenases and urease-related proteins
Leslie Kuhn (BMB) - in silico docking problems related to Fe(II)/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenases and urease
Bill Henry collaborations:
David Arnosti lab (BMB) - Retinoblastoma protein function in Drosophila
Min-Hao Kuo lab (BMB) - Mechanism of p53 tumor suppressor function
James Geiger lab (CEM) - Structure of RNA polymerase III transcription complexes
Lee Kroos collaborations:
H. Yan (BMB) - Structure prediction and determination of Bacillus subtilis transcription factor SpoIIID
M. Garavito (BMB) - Expression of Bacillus subtilis intramembrane-cleaving protease SpoIVFB for structure determination
M. Feig (BMB) - Modeling of Bacillus subtilis proteases SpoIVFB and SpoIIGA
Leslie Kuhn collaborations:
Michael Kron (Medical College of Wisconsin) and David Wenkert (Physiology) - structure-based screening and design of inhibitors against human pathogens Brugia malayi and Plasmodium falciparum.
Honggao Yan (Biochemistry) and Bob Cukier (Chemistry) - conformationally selective inhibition of folate biosynthetic enzymes.
Donatella Canella and Michael Thomashow (Plant Research Laboratory) - structural analysis of DNA binding by a cold acclimation transcription factor.
Weiming Li (Fisheries & Wildlife) and John Teeter (Monell Chemical Senses Center) - structural modeling and ligand recognition in lamprey olfactory receptors.
Shelagh Ferguson-Miller (Biochemistry) - interrelationships between ligand binding, flexibility, and proton pumping in cytochrome c oxidase.
Robert Last collaborations:
Christoph Benning (BMB), Dean DellaPenna (BMB), Ken Nadler (Plant Bio), John Ohlrogge (Plant Bio), Kathy Osteryoung (Plant Bio), Andreas Weber (Plant Bio), Bill Wedemeyer (BMB, Physics), Curt Wilkerson (Plant Biology and BMB) - Arabidopsis 2010: Understanding Chloroplast Function
Gregg Howe (BMB and PRL), Dan Jones (BMB and Chemistry), Curtis Wilkerson (Plant Biology and BMB), Eran Pichersky (U. Michigan) and David Gang (U. Arizona) - systems biology approaches to understanding specialized (secondary) metabolism using tomato and related Solanum species.
Thomas D. Sharkey collaborations:
Christoph Benning, Eric Hegg, Robert Hausinger, Dan Jones, Kenneth Keegstra, Markus Pauly, Claire Vieille, Curtis Willkerson and over 40 other researchers in the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.
Michael Thomashow (Crop & Soil Sci) - Transcriptional adaptor and histone acetyltransferase proteins in Arabidopsis and their interactions with CBF1, a transcriptional activator involved in cold-regulated gene expression.
Michael Thomashow (Crop & Soil Sci) - Disruption mutations of ADA2b and GCN5 transcriptional adaptor genes dramatically affect Arabidopsis growth, development and gene expression. Plant Cell 15: 626-638 (2003).
Michael Thomashow (Crop & Soil Sci) - Multiple hydrophobic motifs in Arabidopsis CBF1 COOH-terminus provide functional redundancy in trans-activation.
John Wang collaborations:
Ron Patterson (MMG) - Galectins and pre-mRNA splicing