Welcome
The Department of Biochemistry is a leading research division at Emory University School of Medicine. Our diverse studies exploring many key areas of biochemistry, molecular and structural biology, applied toward a better understanding of diverse, fundamental biological processes with potential or established links to human health and disease. These include but are not limited to the study of gene expression and control of protein synthesis, cell signaling, cell metabolism, molecular pathogenesis, and protein/nucleic acid modifications and interactions.
Latest Department News
Sundberg Lab
Dr. Eric Sundberg, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry, and Dr. Diego Sastre, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, published a paper, "Potent efficacy of an IgG-specific endoglycosidase against IgG-mediated pathologies, " in Cell, October 2024.
Shekhar Lab
Shashank Shekhar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Physics, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry at Emory University, was named “Cell Scientist to Watch” by the Journal of Cell Science. The journal conducted an in-depth interview with Dr. Shekhar, highlighting his academic journey and his lab’s latest research.
Liang Lab
Dr. Blerta Xhemalçe Joins Biochemistry Faculty
The Department of Biochemistry welcomed Blerta Xhemalçe, PhD, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, September 1, 2024.
The Xhemalçe lab studies how epigenetic modifications regulate the expression of genetic information from DNA to RNA to proteins. They use a combination of cellular and molecular biology, RNA biochemistry, next generation sequencing and quantitative mass spectrometry to identify and characterize novel "writers", "erasers" and "readers" of RNA modifications. Also joining the Xhemalçe Lab are Brandon Chiou, Yi-Ru Li, and Joshuah Nguyen.
2024 SOM Researcher Appreciation Day
Khoshnevis Lab
Liu Lab
Dr. Xu Liu, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, received an NIH grant, "Multifaceted Regulation of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Transcriptional Activities."
Congratulations, Xu!
Ortlund Lab
Congratulations to Molly Little and Eric Ortlund on their recent publication in Biochemical Society Transactions, "Structure, function, and lipid sensing activity in the thioesterase superfamily".
Ortlund Lab
Congratulations to Eric Ortlund, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Biochemistry, on earning the Therapeutic Advancement Award from the Emory Center for New Medicines.
Ortlund and Calvert Labs
Congratulations to Eric Ortlund, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Biochemistry at Emory School of Medicine, and John Calvert, PhD, Associate Professor of Surgery and Biochemistry at Emory School of Medicine, for their recent Biolocity Award, “Targeting HpEF with Urearetics”.
Roberts Lab
Roberts Lab featured in Bruker short documentary profile about the neofleX MALDI-TOF Benchtop in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS research.
2024 BSURE Program
Biochemistry welcomes 2024 Emory Biochemistry Summer Undergrad Research program (BSURE) students!
Ortlund Lab MoTrPAC Research Featured in "Nature"
Congratulations to the Ortlund lab on their publication, "Temporal dynamics of the multi-omic response to endurance exercise training," in Nature. This paper was part of a group of papers released May 1 in Nature discussing the findings of the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC). The work was also featured on the journal's May 2 cover and in a Nature news feature.
"Deal of the Year" Award
Dr. Eric Ortlund, Professor and Vice Chair of Biochemistry, was honored with the "Deal of the Year" award from the Office of Technology Transfer at Emory University. Dr. Ortlund licensed small molecule modulators targeting the Liver Receptor Homologue 1 to Allonix Therapeutics for the treatment of IBD, Metabolic Diseases and Cancer.
Dr. Charles Bou-Nader Joins Biochemistry Faculty
Biochemistry welcomes Charles Bou-Nader, PhD, as Assistant Professor effective November 1, 2023. Dr. Bou-Nader was previously a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Dr. Jinwei Zhang, NIH NIDDK.
Dr. Bou-Nader's lab will focus on understanding mechanistically how RNA and R-loop structures control gene expression and genomic integrity in the context of viral infection and neurological disorders. His lab will mainly use cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM), X-ray crystallography and biochemical approaches to define important molecular mechanisms of nucleic acid recognition by proteins. You can reach him at cbounad@emory.edu or on Twitter/X @CharlesBNader.
