Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
In 2015, the Biochemistry Department ranked #19 in NIH research funding according to Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
Wensel Lab Research
Structure of heat-sensitive ion channel TRPV1, the receptor for capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chile pepper. The Wensel, Chiu, and Zhou labs determine membrane protein structures using cryo-electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography.
Chiu, Schmid, Ludtke, O'Malley, Feng, Ping, and Foulds' Lab Research
Estrogen Receptor binds to DNA and recruits co-activators to turn on transcription.
Green Eyed Mouse
These mice with glowing green eyes carry the gene for human rhodopsin, the most commonly mutated gene in inherited blindness, fused to Green Fluorescent Protein, to enable development of new therapeutic strategies.
Wang Lab Research
The potent actin nucleator Cordon-bleu (green fluorescence) co-localizes with actin (red fluorescence) to form membrane ruffles (orange/yellow). The Wang and Ma labs have discovered the structural basis for actin nucleation.
