Lynn Zechiedrich Lab

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About the Lab

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Established in August 1997, the Zechiedrich laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine is located in the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world, in Houston, Texas, USA. The work in the laboratory centers around DNA structure/function and the essential enzymes that modulate DNA structure/function, the DNA topoisomerases. Human topoisomerases are the targets of several classes of anti-cancer drugs while bacterial topoisomerases are targeted by fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Because the essential topoisomerases modulate DNA, the work in the laboratory has broadened to include creating tiny circles of DNA to study DNA supercoiling and how it affects topoisomerases and how drugs inhibit topoisomerases. These supercoiled DNA nanoparticles have important materials science applications, including as non-viral gene therapy delivery vectors.

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Lab Funding

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  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund New Investigator Award
  • National Science Foundation Grant
  • National Institutes of Health Grants
  • Program in Mathematics and Molecular Biology (funded by the NSF and BWF)
  • Genome Aequencing Award from Applied Biosystems
  • John S. Dunn Foundation Collaborative Research Award
  • Human Frontier Science Program Grant
  • Northwest Genome Engineering Consortium in Seattle Seed Funding
  • Baylor–UT Houston Center for AIDS Research Seed Funding
  • Alkek Center for Metagenomics Microbiome Research Pilot Award
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Opportunities and Accomplishments

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Training Opportunities

The multidisciplinary research in the Zechiedrich laboratory provides ample opportunity for training. Dr. Zechiedrich has trained nine previous postdoctoral fellows, 15 graduate students, five post-baccalaureate students, 24 former and one current undergraduate students, and seven high school students in addition to hosting three visiting professors.


Alumni Success

Former trainees from the Zechiedrich laboratory contribute to science in multiple different capacities. They are college professors, company scientists and CEO's, medical doctors, science writers, postdoctoral fellows, and leaders in K12 education (view the Zechiedrich laboratory alumni).


Mentoring Success

Dr. Zechiedrich has published and lectured nationally on mentoring and was Baylor College of Medicine's BRASS Mentor of the Year in 2013. In 2018, she was named a Baylor College of Medicine Woman of Excellence based upon her dedication to inclusive excellence and diversity, and in 2020 she received the highest education honor given at Baylor College of Medicine, the Barbara and Corbin J. Robertson, Jr. Presidential Award for Excellence in Education.

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Primary Investigator

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Lynn Zechiedrich is a Kyle and Josephine Morrow chair and professor in the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology.

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Lab Members

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View a listing of the Zechiedrich Lab members along with links to their bios.

Meet Our Team