Chemical Biology
Chemical biology is the interdisciplinary application of chemistry to study and manipulate biological systems including proteins, cells, and organisms. This broad area of research encompasses the more traditional disciplines of medicinal, bioorganic, bioanalytical, and bioinorganic chemistry.
Areas of Focus
Medicinal Chemistry • Enzyme Inhibitors • Bioorthogonal Chemical Probes • Biomimetic Catalysts • Targeted Drug Delivery • Cancer Metabolism • Proteomics • Protein Post-Translational Modifications • Protein Footprinting and Crosslinking • Protein Folding and Aggregation • In-Cell Biomolecular NMR • Cell Imaging • Imaging Mass Spectrometry • Natural Product Biosynthesis • Functional Genetic Screens • Protein-Protein Interactions • Chemical Basis of Life Processes • Chemical Basis of Human Diseases
Affiliated Faculty
Michael Gross
Biological and biophysical chemistry, mass spectrometry, structural proteomics,protein footprinting, FPOP, HDX, native MS, crosslinking, ion mobility
Meredith Jackrel
Biochemistry and biophysics; protein folding, misfolding, and neurodegenerative disease; protein engineering and directed evolution; protein disaggregases and molecular chaperone
Kevin Moeller
Synthetic organic chemistry, electrochemistry, addressable molecular libraries, new chemical probes for mapping biological receptors
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)
John Taylor
Bioorganic Chemistry
Tim 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, targeted drug delivery, membrane transport paradigms for siderophore-mediated iron acquisition in bacteria
see also:
I chose WashU because I hoped for a collaborative and interdisciplinary research experience, with access to a wide array of top-class professors and instruments. What I didn't expect to gain as well was a community of people who have been so supportive and encouraging throughout my journey, and a department that cares deeply about my safety both on and off campus.
―Chanez SymisterPhD Candidate, Chancellor's Fellow, Wencewicz Lab