Research Categories - Research Tools and Instrumentation

Advanced technologies are routinely used at HMS, and several faculty members are considered leading authorities on the use of these analytical technologies in biological applications. For example, Gerhard Wagner is an expert on NMR spectroscopy, and is pioneering the use of this methodology in the analysis of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions. James Hogle is developing improvements to fluorescence microscopy and also investigating viral entry into cells by electron microscopy. Stephen Harrison is employing electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography to analyze viral particle assembly and trafficking. James Chou is exploiting NMR for analyzing the structures of membrane proteins.

Related Investigators

  1. Joan Brugge, PhD

    Epithelial cell biology; mechanisms of breast and ovarian cancer development

    The biology of epithelial cells and tissues, with an emphasis on mammary gland morphogenesis and breast and ovarian cancer  

  2. Ronald Desrosiers, PhD

    HIV and AIDS: vaccine; persistent immune response

    Develop new strategies for blunting viral replication and bolstering the immune system’s ability to eradicate viral-infected T-cell reservoirs. 

  3. Roberto Kolter, PhD

    Microbial physiology

    Explore gene expression, community behavior, and biochemical aspects of bacterial biofilms; investigate microbial genomics.  

  4. Galit Lahav, PhD

    The p53 tumor suppressor as a model for studying temporal dynamics of signaling networks

    Investigate protein dynamics at the single cell level; quantification of proteins in live cells using fluorescence microscopy and mathematical modeling; cellular decision-making in cancer and healthy ...

  5. Xuebin Qin, MD, PhD

    Immune modulation to treat cancer and viral infections

    CD59, the complement cascade, and disease    

  6. James Rowlett, PhD

    Anxiety, addiction, cognition, and sleep: pharmacotherapy, GABA receptor

    Investigate the neuropharmacological basis of psychiatric disease and addiction, employing behavioral methodologies and translational approaches.  Primary areas of research include anxiety, ...

  7. Roger Spealman, PhD

    CNS disorders: addiction; Parkinson’s disease

    Studies on the mechanisms and efficacy of psychoactive drugs  

  8. Fred Winston, PhD

    Mechanisms of eukaryotic gene expression in yeast: transcriptional regulation; chromatin structure

    Employs yeast as a model organism to study mechanisms of eukaryotic transcriptional regulation.  

  9. Bruce Yankner, MD, PhD

    Molecular mechanisms of aging and aging-related neurodegenerative diseases

    Explore aging at the molecular level, employing a systems biology approach

  10. Gary Yellen, PhD

    Ion channel structure and function; epilepsy; fluorescent biosensors

    Study the function of ion channels, such as  the voltage-dependent K+ and pacemaker channels; explore the molecular basis of dietary therapy for epileptic seizures.