Faculty Directory

David S. Fay, Ph.D. – Developmental genetics of tumor suppressor genes.
Investigation into the in vivo functions and molecular co-partners of the C. elegans Retinoblastoma protein homolog, lin-35. More...

Mark Gomelsky, Ph.D. – Novel protein domains in microbial sensory transduction. We are interested in understanding how single-cellular organisms sense their environment and adapt to it. We focus on novel protein modules involved in oxygen and light sensing and on unusual second messenger, cyclic dimeric GMP, c-di-GMP. More...

Dale Isaak, Ph.D. – Virus induced apoptosis of animal cells.
The mechanism(s) of HIV-1 induced apoptosis and the role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of AIDS onset. Identification of HIV-1 gene products responsible for induction of apoptosis. More…

Don Jarvis, Ph.D. - Molecular biology of the baculovirus-insect cell system.
Mechanisms of glycoprotein biosynthesis, relationships between glycoprotein structure and function. Development of novel baculovirus expression systems by metabolic engineering. More...

Pamela J. Langer, Ph.D. – Role of proteases in novel biological phenomena
Identification and characterization of spider digestive proteases including those capable of degrading spider silk fiber proteins. Investigation of structural properties of proteases that permit degradation of solid silk fibers. More…

Randy Lewis, Ph.D. – Structures and properties of spider silk.
Determining the structure and function of spider silk proteins and how that relates to the extraordinary strength and elasticity of these silks. More…

David Liberles, Ph.D. – Bioinformatics, Comparative Genomics, and Molecular Evolution.
As species diverge, specific molecular changes drive phenotypic changes and ultimately adaptation. Understanding the mechanism of the evolution of new functionality in genomes and how this correlates with the phenotypic divergence of species is the central theme of my research group. More...

Kurt Miller, Ph.D.   – Structure and mechanism of action of bacteriocins.
Pediocin AcH-cell interactions and global mechanisms of pediocin AcH resistance in Listeria. Secondary and tertiary structure of pediocin AcH. More…

Nancy Petersen, Ph.D. – Regulation of actin fiber bundle assembly.
Regulation of parallel actin fiber bundles found in developing Drosophila bristles, intestinal brush border microvilli, kidney proximal tubule microvilli, and the stereocilia of the ear. Roles of the forked protein and its relatives in the assembly and maintenance of parallel actin fiber bundles. More…

Mark Stayton, Ph.D. – Molecular and cellular responses to acute myocardial infarction.
Cardiovascular disease is the single largest cause of death in westernized societies and the cost to treat acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the United States alone is ~$5 billion per year.   More…

Anne W. Sylvester, Ph.D. – Developmental genetics of maize and other grasses.  Investigating molecular and cellular control of cell division and cell expansion during leaf development, using functional genomics, microarray analysis, protein tagging methods and phylogenomics.  More…

Peter E. Thorsness, Ph.D. - Inheritance of mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA.
Genetic and biochemical analysis of mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA inheritance in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Physical interaction of mitochondria with other cellular components. More…

Daniel Wall, Ph.D. - Microbial pili, motility and cell communication; antibiotic drug discovery.
A fundamental problem in biology is how individual cells within a multicellular organism interact to coordinate diverse biological processes. Another problem we study is the mechanisms of action and resistance of novel antibacterial agents.

Naomi Ward, Ph.D. - Microbial genomics, ecology, and systematics.
Research focuses on microbial genomics, ecology, and systematics, and interactions between these research areas.

Jordanka Zlatanova, Ph.D. - Chromatin structure and dynamics, and its role in transcription regulation. 
Chromatin is the complex between DNA and small basic proteins, histones, and consists of a repeating unit, the nucleosome, connected to linker DNA. More...

Faculty with Joint Appointments

Cynthia Weinig, Ph.D. (Botany)

Faculty with Administrative Appointments

Don Roth, Ph.D. - Dean UW Graduate School.

Emeritus Faculty

Jerry Johnson, Ph.D. – Emeritus Professor.

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