Chemical Biology

Our faculty and students are on the front line of this exciting field, developing new techniques and integrating modern chemical methods to understand biological problems at the molecular level. Recent technological breakthroughs present spectacular new opportunities to address problems in pharmacology, cell biology, structural biology, and medicine. State-of-the-art facilities in structural biology make the University of Minnesota an excellent choice for the biological chemist who wishes to correlate detailed molecular structure with biological function. Some of our research encompasses:

• synthesizing potent bioactive molecules including anti-cancer compounds and natural products;
• developing chemical methods for synthesis of small molecules, peptides and small proteins, engineering designer proteins;
• mimicking metalloprotein active sites and examining reactivity of model complexes; 
• using a combination of biochemical, inorganic, and synthetic organic chemistry to study how these fascinating catalysts function at the molecular level;
• conducting single cell, organelle, and molecule analysis; 
• studying the redox properties of enzymes; 
• designing novel bioactive nanomaterials; 
• conducting in-situ neurochemistry; 
• performing theoretical and computational studies of the structure, reactivity, and dynamics of biomolecules in solution;
• modeling enzymatic catalysis;
• using fluorescence, IR, Raman, EPR, and NMR spectroscopies to study exciting problems and protein-RNA interactions, HIV, membrane-bound proteins, and metalloproteins;
• conducting in vitro selection (SELEX) to obtain new diagnostic and therapeutic agents;
• developing and using new methods for proteomic analysis;
• determining the structure of proteins via NMR methods;
• studying the mechanisms of DNA damage and repair;
• creating new protein-based therapeutics; and
• developing new methods for super resolution microscopy.

Chemical Biology Interface Training Grant

The National Institutes of Health Chemical Biology Interface Training Grant allows first-rate students to grow into accomplished professionals both in their primary area of interest (e.g., synthetic/mechanistic organic and inorganic chemistry, molecular biology, mechanistic enzymology, medicinal chemistry) and in a complementary field by cross-discipline research interactions and experiences. Pre-doctoral trainees for this training grant program are selected from a pool of graduate students who have been recruited by the Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, and Medicinal Chemistry departments.