Faculty

Molecular Biophysics faculty are drawn from the departments of Applied Physiology, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mechanical Engineering, and Physics.


  • Ed Balog
    Applied Physiology
    Studies of intracellular ion channels known as ryanodine receptors (RyRs). These proteins are the primary efflux pathway for the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
    ed.balog@ap.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-3957


  • Bridgette Barry
    Chemistry & Biochemistry Director, Molecular Biophysics Training Program
    Biological electron transfer, membrane biophysics, DNS synthesis, peptide maquettes, vibrational spectroscopy, EPR spectroscopy, photosynthesis.
    bridgette.barry@chemistry.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-385-6085


  • Jennifer Curtis
    Physics
    Investigation of the structure, mechanics and function of the pericellular coat and hyaluronan‐protein macromolecular assemblies; the mechanics of phagocytosis using biophysical and nanopatterning tools.
    jennifer.curtis@physics.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-8839


  • Robert M. Dickson
    Chemistry & Biochemistry
    Single molecule spectroscopy, fluorophore design and utilization in materials and biology, laser spectroscopy and dynamics, nanoparticle synthesis and photophysics, biolabeling, superresolution and high‐sensitivity optical microscopy.
    robert.dickson@chemistry.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-4007


  • Mostafa A. El-Sayed
    Chemistry & Biochemistry
    Nanoscience: synthesis and study of the properties of nanomaterial of different shapes, nanotechnology: potential use of nanoparticles in: a) nanomedicine: diagnostics and selective photothermal therapy of cancer, b) nanocatalysis: shape dependence in cage effects.
    melsayed@gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-7452


  • Christoph J. Fahrni
    Chemistry & Biochemistry
    Development and application of cation‐selective fluorescent probes for biophotonics. Study of metal‐ion distribution and subcellular localization in live cells by x‐ray fluorescence microscopy.
    fahrni@chemistry.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-2295


  • JC Gumbart
    School of Physics Assistant Professor
    Molecular dynamics simulations of membrane-protein insertion and function at both the inner and outer bacterial membranes, bacterial cell wall dynamics and growth, nascent-peptide-ribosome interactions.
    jcgumbart@gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    (404) 385-0797


  • Nicholas V. Hud
    Chemistry & Biochemistry
    Elucidation of the fundamental chemical and physical principles that govern nucleic acid assembly at multiple scales, from cation‐mediated RNA folding in the ribosome to the organization of DNA in viruses and bacterial cells.
    hud@chemistry.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-385-1162


  • Harold Kim
    Physics, Biology
    Quantitative understanding of transcription‐factor activated gene expression in eukaryotic cells with emphasis on the role of nucleosome position/energetics and threedimensional organization of the genome in gene regulation. Fluorescence microscopy of live cells and single molecules.
    harold.kim@physics.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-0080


  • Raquel Lieberman
    Chemistry & Biochemistry
    Protein crystallography, enzymology, biophysics, chemical biology and in silico modeling to elucidate the structure, function and mechanism of enzymes that perform hydrolysis reactions in an unusual chemical environment within or at the surface of the lipid bilayer of a cell.
    raquel.lieberman@chemistry.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-385-3663


  • Nael McCarty
    Emory School of Medicine, Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry
    Biophysical approaches to understand the structure, function, and regulation of plasma membrane ion channels and receptors.
    namccar@emory.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-727-1327


  • Amit R. Reddi
    Chemistry & Biochemistry
    Biophysical and biochemical characterization of cellular transition metal trafficking, metalloproteins and metalloproteomes, placing an emphasis on systems relevant to cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and infectious diseases.
    amit.reddi@chemistry.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-385-1428


  • Ingeborg Schmidt-Krey
    Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry
    Structure of eukaryotic membrane proteins and membrane protein complexes by electron crystallography.
    ingeborg.schmidt-krey@biology.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-385-0286


  • C. David Sherrill
    Chemistry & Biochemistry, Computational Science & Engineering
    Quantum mechanical models of electronic structure used to obtain reliable binding energies and substituent effects for non‐covalent interactions in nucleic acids and between protein side‐chains.
    sherrill@gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-4037


  • Jeffrey Skolnick
    Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Computational Science & Engineering
    Computational biology.
    jeffrey.skolnick@biology.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-407-8975


  • Todd Sulchek
    Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering
    Bioengineering and microelectromechanical systems: atomic force microscopy, pathogen adhesion and endocytosis, cell biomechanics, single molecule biophysics, drug delivery and targeting, biosensors.
    todd.sulchek@me.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-385-1887


  • Roger Wartell
    Biology, Physics
    Mechanism of protein facilitated sRNA regulation of mRNA expression; assembly and stability of RNA structures
    roger.wartell@biology.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-8421


  • Loren D. Williams
    Chemistry & Biochemistry
    Experimental and informatic approaches to determining and characterizing nucleic acid structures, and the forces that govern the structures.
    loren.williams@chemistry.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-9752


  • Cheng Zhu
    Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering
    Biomechanics of cell adhesion and signaling molecules of the immune system and the vascular systems.
    cheng.zhu@me.gatech.edu
    Faculty Page
    404-894-3269