Research Categories - Biological Mechanisms and Pathways

The renowned and groundbreaking molecular and cellular biological studies at Harvard Medical School encompass diverse aspects of cell and viral function, employing a variety of model organisms. From disulfide bond formation in bacteria to large scale RNAi screening in Drosophila to systems biology studies, HMS investigators are investigating a wide array of biological phenomena, trying to uncover the complex cellular dynamics encoded for by cellular and viral genomes.

Related Investigators

  1. Jonathan Beckwith, PhD

    Study cellular processes in bacteria: protein folding, reduction and formation of protein disulfide bonds, membrane protein dynamics

    Investigate fundamental molecular processes, including protein folding and disulfide bond formation, using E. coli as a model system

  2. John Blenis, PhD

    Signal transduction: nutrient and energy sensing; disease; mTOR; PI3-kinase; Ras

    Explore the diverse yet overlapping intracellular transmission signals propagated by cell surface receptors that respond to extracellular growth factors, environmental conditions, and other ...

  3. David Evans, PhD

    HIV infection and AIDS vaccine development

    Investigate new approaches for AIDS vaccine development using SIV infection of non-human primates as a model system.  

  4. Ed Harlow, PhD

    Molecular mechanisms of cell signaling and applications to cancer biology

    Global molecular screening studies to gain insights into the genetic regulation of cancer development and response of cancer cells to chemotherapy  

  5. Xuebin Qin, MD, PhD

    Immune modulation to treat cancer and viral infections

    CD59, the complement cascade, and disease    

  6. James Rowlett, PhD

    Anxiety, addiction, cognition, and sleep: pharmacotherapy, GABA receptor

    Investigate the neuropharmacological basis of psychiatric disease and addiction, employing behavioral methodologies and translational approaches.  Primary areas of research include anxiety, ...

  7. Pamela Silver, PhD

    Systems and synthetic biology: gene expression; synthetic proteins; biofuel

    Investigate a wide spectrum of biological phenomena. Starting with gene regulation as a core theme, investigate nuclear spatial architecture, synthetic biology, epigenetics, systems biology, ...

  8. Roger Spealman, PhD

    CNS disorders: addiction; Parkinson’s disease

    Studies on the mechanisms and efficacy of psychoactive drugs  

  9. David Van Vactor, Jr, PhD

    Cell biology of neuronal connectivity: axon guidance; synapse; signaling mechanisms

    Studies on axon guidance and synapse formation in metazoans such as Drosophila that are in many cases directly relevant to mammalian cells.  

  10. Gerhard Wagner, PhD

    NMR spectroscopy for analyzing protein structure/function relationships; small molecule screening

    Study protein structure and small molecule binding to proteins, using NMR spectroscopy and other complementary methods