BMB Research

Research Areas

The BMB Department’s research programs span a wide range of interconnected disciplines in modern biochemistry and molecular biophysics. Our faculty lead innovative research efforts in the following thematic areas:

Biochemistry of Lipids and Metabolism: Exploring the enzymatic pathways and molecular mechanisms that drive lipid biosynthesis and membrane-associated reactions, and metabolic engineering of seed oils for industrial and biofuel applications.

Infectious Disease and Host–Pathogen Interactions: Advancing the understanding of immune evasion, bacterial pathogenesis, iron acquisition systems, and innate immune responses to infectious agents.

Structural Biochemistry: Investigating protein structure, folding, and function through approaches including NMR spectroscopy, computational biophysics, and molecular recognition studies to reveal how proteins carry out essential cellular roles.

Cell and Developmental Biology: Uncovering the molecular foundations of tissue formation and maintenance, with an emphasis on muscle and heart development, and cell-signaling pathways.

Cancer Biology: Defining the molecular basis of human diseases, including triple-negative breast cancer, tumor immune microenvironments, and the roles of metalloproteases in cancer progression.

Aging and Longevity: Identifying biochemical and molecular mechanisms of aging and developing therapeutic strategies aimed at improving human healthspan and longevity.

Insect Physiology: Studying insect immune systems, hemolymph proteins, cuticle formation, and enzymatic processes that regulate insect development and defense.

Drug Discovery and Therapeutic Design: Employing structural, biochemical, and computational tools to design and discover new therapeutic molecules targeting infectious diseases, aging, and other major health challenges.

Meet the people who lead our research programs

Faculty Research Videos

Image of Dr. Michal Zolkiewski explaining research results to lab staff Image of Dr. Durrett helping a grad student with research and link to Dr. Durrett's Youtube research video
Dr. Michal Zolkiewski
 Dr. Timothy Durrett
Image of Dr. Kanost discussing research poster with students. Image of Dr. Klebba's research meeting and link to Dr. Klebba's YouTube research video
Dr. Michael Kanost
 Dr. Phillip E. Klebba
Image of Dr. Brian Geisbrecht overseeing research with lab staff and link to Dr. B. Geisbrecht's YouTube research video Image of Dr. Erika Geisbrecht demonstrating research results and link to Dr. E. Gesbrecht's Youtube research video
Dr. Brian Geisbrecht
 Dr. Erika Geisbrecht