Biochemistry

The goal of biochemistry is to explain the chemical processes of life at the molecular level. Its breadth ranges from using genetics to understand the connection between protein structure and disease to mapping metabolic pathways that convert foodstuffs into energy.

Areas of Focus

Biochemistry • Protein folding and misfolding • Metabolism/metabolomics • Photosynthesis • Antibiotic resistance

Affiliated Faculty

Michael Gross
Biological and biophysical chemistry, biochemistry, mass spectrometry, structural proteomics, protein footprinting, FPOP, HDX, native MS, crosslinking, ion mobility

Dewey Holten
Physical and biophysical chemistry, biochemistry, primary reactions of photosynthesis, tetrapyrrole photophysics, ultrafast optical spectroscopy

Meredith Jackrel
Biochemistry and biophysics; protein folding, misfolding, and neurodegenerative disease; protein engineering and directed evolution; protein disaggregases and molecular chaperones

Kevin Moeller
Synthetic organic chemistry, electrochemistry, biochemistry, addressable molecular libraries, new chemical probes for mapping biological receptors

Yusuke Okuno
Biophysical Chemistry, Solution-state NMR, Protein-ligand/protein-protein interactions, Protein hydration, Neurodegenerative diseases

    Gary Patti
    Biochemistry, metabolism, metabolomics, mass spectrometry, LC/MS, mass spectrometry-based imaging, cancer metabolism, cell-cell interactions, metabolic flux analysis, enzyme kinetics, stable isotope tracing, organismal metabolism of model animals (zebrafish)

    Courtney Reichhardt
    Biochemistry, Physical Chemistry, Solid-State NMR,Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy, Electron Microscopy, Biofilms

    John Taylor
    Bioorganic chemistry, biochemistry

    Timothy Wencewicz
    Antibiotic drug discovery, new therapeutic strategies to combat antibiotic resistance, natural product biosynthesis, synthetic organic chemistry, mechanism-based enzyme inhibitors, structural and mechanistic basis of enzyme reactions, chemoenzymatic synthesis of value chemicals, green chemistry, biochemistry, targeted drug delivery, membrane transport paradigms for siderophore-mediated iron acquisition in bacteria

    microscope used in biochemistry applications
    Coming into WashU, I was a little concerned about how my undergraduate chemistry background would compare to other the graduate students in the department. My advisor along with a few other professors and administrators helped me navigate the adjustment, and through regular one-on-one meetings with them I have been able to build a solid foundation for my research as well as build my confidence in my learning abilities. ― Kendra White-Drayton PhD Candidate, Moeller Lab