Drexel University College of Medicine

Biochemistry is a challenging and broad-based graduate program of research and coursework leading to the M.S. or Ph.D. degree. The aim of the graduate program is to train scientists to identify, address, and solve biomedical problems at the molecular level.

The themes of molecular structure, molecular mechanisms, and molecular regulation are recurrent throughout the diverse research areas represented by the biochemistry faculty.

Biochemistry (Ph.D. & M.S.) Individual Program Requirements

In addition to the core curriculum, every student carries out relatively short research projects in three different laboratories of the student's choice. These research experiences not only give the student broad research training, but also help the student to select a thesis adviser by the end of the first 12 months.

In the second year, students begin thesis research and take several advanced courses, tailored to the student’s individual interests.

All students participate in student seminars and are encouraged to attend seminars in the Department and the University.

The average duration of study for a Ph.D. degree is five years. A minimum of two years of full-time study is required for a master's degree.

All students must successfully complete the core curriculum prior to completing the following program-specific requirements:

• BIOC-502           Biochemistry 1^st Laboratory Rotation
• BIOC-503           Biochemistry 2^nd Laboratory Rotation
• BIOC-504           Biochemistry 3^rd Laboratory Rotation
• MCBG-507        Macromolecular Structure and Function
• BIOC-508           Experimental Approaches to Biochemical Problems
• BIOC-509           Biochemical Basis of Disease
• BIOC-511           Scientific Writing for Biomedical Researchers: Grants and Papers
• BIOC-600           Biochemistry Thesis Research

Biochemistry Research Faculty

Michael J. Bouchard, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Hepatitis B virology and hepatic cancer; HBx protein and hepatitis viral replication; calcium signaling and its role in cellular transformation.

Irwin Chaiken, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Receptor recognition and activation mechanisms; protein recognition in disease pathogenesis; protein mimetics; biomolecular design for therapeutics and biotechnology; designed molecular sensor interfaces and biosensor technology.

Jane Azizkhan-Clifford, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Cellular response to DNA damage, regulation of gene expression, cellular proliferation and the cell cycle.

Simon Cocklin, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Macromolecular interaction analysis, HIV-1 replication, strucuture-function relationships, ligand-receptor interactions.

Alessandro Fatatis, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interests: Cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating metastatic potential of solid tumors, studied in vitro and in animal models of neoplastic disease.

Marilyn Jorns, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Metabolism and regulation of biological signaling molecules, mechanism and structural basis of enzyme catalysis.

Gregg J. Johannes, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Research focuses on understanding the role of hypoxia (low oxygen) in regulating gene expression, translation, and cellular metabolism during tumor development.

Patrick J. Loll, Ph.D.
Research Interests: X-ray crystallography and structural biology; integral membrane protein structure; structure-based drug design; polyglutamine diseases; antibiotic resistance.

Alexander V. Mazin, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Mechanisms of DNA double-stranded break repair in humans and in yeast; role of homologous recombination in tumorigenesis; functions of Rad5, Rad54, and Rad51 proteins.

Eishi Noguchi, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Genome maintenance mechanisms relevant to cancer biology, including DNA replication, cell cycle checkpoints, and chromatin structure; investigating the mechanisms required for preservation of genomic integrity.

Mauricio Reginato, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Signal transduction mechanisms underlying matrix and growth factor regulation of breast epithelial biology and cancer; apoptotic signaling and differentiation.

Chris Sell, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Neuroendocrine signals that contribute to aging: underlying mechanisms and lifespan modulation.

Akhil Vaidya, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Understanding basic molecular functioning of malaria parasites with a view to developing new antimalarial drugs.

Keith Vosseller, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Proteomic and biochemical studies on the post-translational regulation of signal transduction through site-specific modification of proteins by O-GlcNAc and phosphorylation.

Adjunct Biochemistry Faculty at Fox Chase Cancer Center

Paul Cairns, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Translation of basic knowledge of the epigenetics of cancer to improve the early detection, prognosis, and prediction of response to treatment of cancer through novel and well-conceived molecular tests.

Jonathan Chernoff, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interests: Signal transduction by small G proteins and their effectors and the role of these proteins in regulating cytoskeletal structure, tumor invasion, and metastasis; regulation of insulin signaling.

Edna Cukierman, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Isolation of primary fibroblasts from various murine and human cancers at different stages of tumorigenesis.

Roland Dunbrack, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Computational structural biology, including homology modeling, fold recognition, molecular dynamics simulations, statistical analysis of the PDB, and bioinformatics.

Erica Golemis, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Understanding points of communication between the cell cycle machinery and cell shape controls, with particular reference to how these processes are simultaneously disrupted in cancer; the HEF1, HEI10, and HEI-C proteins, which function in cell cycle-cell attachment control pathways.

Eileen K. Jaffe, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Protein quaternary structure dynamics; the morpheein model of allosteric regulation; quaternary structure as a basis for understanding disease and discovering drugs.

Warren D. Kruger, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Molecular chaperone correction of missense mutations; genetic defects of methionine metabolic enzymes and human disease.

Jeffery Peterson, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Understanding how the Rho family of signaling proteins function in normal cells and how their signaling is altered in cancer and metastasis.

Biochemistry Teaching Faculty

Denise Ferrier, Ph.D.

Bradford Jameson, Ph.D.

Gerry Soslau, Ph.D.

John Swaney, Ph.D.

Michael M. White, Ph.D.

Biochemistry Program Guidelines

Biochemistry Policies describes the academic policies and procedures pertaining to graduate study in the Biochemistry Program. The booklet contains current standards that are revised periodically by faculty in the Biochemistry Program, and procedures and general rules of the Office of Biomedical Graduate Studies.

Download the Biochemistry Program Policies.

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Biochemistry Program Contact Information

Tel: 1-866-6BIOMED (1-866-624-6633)
Email: biograd@drexelmed.edu