Overview

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Group in Comparative Biochemistry offers unique opportunities for students to obtain the PhD degree in a broad range of disciplines that use biochemical and molecular approaches to problems in the biological sciences. Opportunities for research exist with faculty from diverse departments and research units on the Berkeley campus including Molecular and Cell Biology, Nutritional Sciences, Plant and Microbial Biology, Chemistry, Public Health, Environmental Science and Policy Management, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 

Graduate Program

Comparative Biochemistry: PhD

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Courses

Comparative Biochemistry

Faculty and Instructors

+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Faculty

Adam Arkin, Professor. Systems modeling.
Research Profile

Mina J.Bissell, Distinguished Scientist. Breast cancer research, enhanced role of extracellular matrix (ECM), nucleus environment to gene expression in normal and malignant tissues.
Research Profile

Steven Brenner, Professor. Molecular biology, computational biology, evolutionary biology, bioengineering, structural genomics, computational genomics, cellular activity, cellular functions, personal genomics.
Research Profile

George A. Brooks, Professor. Exercise and environmental physiology, metabolism, lactate shuttle, crossover concept, lactate, lactic acidosis, traumatic brain injury, obesity, diabetes, the Warburg Effect in cancer, aging biology, isotope tracer technology, arterial-venous difference measurements, clamp technology, muscle biopsies, cell culture, mitochondrial biogenesis, energy substrate partitioning, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, fatty acid reesterification, menopause.
Research Profile

Judith Campisi, Professor. Mechanisms that link tumor suppression and the development of cancer to aging and the major diseases associated with aging .

Jamie Cate, Professor. Molecular basis for protein synthesis by the ribosome, RNA, antibiotics, a thermophilic bacterium, escherichia coli.
Research Profile

Susan E. Celniker, Biochemist Senior Scientist. Biological Systems and Engineering, Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology.
Research Profile

Jhih-Wei Chu, Biological Faculty Engineer. Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging.

Douglas S. Clark, Professor. Biochemical engineering and biocatalysis.
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Jennifer A. Doudna, Professor. RNA machines, hepatitis C virus, RNA interference, ribosomes.
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Kenneth Downing, Biophysicist Senior Scientist. Development and application of electron methodology for determination of macromolecular and subcellular structures .

Peter H. Duesberg, Professor. Genetic structure of retroviruses, carcinogenesis, aneuploidy, virology, HIV-AIDS.
Research Profile

Lin He, Assistant Professor.

Sona Kang, Assistant Professor. Epigenetics, chromatin remodeling, gene expression, diabetes, metabolic diseases .
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Gary H. Karpen, Adjunct Professor. Gene expression, cell biology, chromosome structure and function, drosophila melanogaster, centromere identity and function.
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Jay Keasling, Professor. Microorganism metabolic engineering for environmentally friendly product .
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Sung-Hou Kim, Professor. Computational genomics, Structural Biology, drug discovery, disease genomics.
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Isao Kubo, Professor. Agriculture, insect biology, pest management.
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John Kuriyan, Professor. Structural and functional studies of signal transduction, DNA replication, cancer therapies, phosphorylation.
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Stuart M. Linn, Professor. Biology, enzymology of DNA metabolism, DNA repair and replication in mammalian cells, mechanisms of DNA damage by reactive oxygen species, structure of iron: DNA complexes, DNA damage and repair, DNA polymerases.
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Fenyong Liu, Professor. Public health, infectious diseases.
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Sangwei Lu, Adjunct Professor. Pathogenesis and Transmission of Salmonella, Foodborne Pathogens, Foodborne Diseases-Detection and Prevention.
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Jian-Hua Mao, Geneticist Senior Staff Scientist. A systems biology approach to identification of genetic networks controlling susceptibility to genomic instability and carcinogenesis induced by radiation.
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Gerard Marriott, Biochemist Faculty Scientist. Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Cellular and Tissue Imaging.
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Anastasios Melis, Professor. Photosynthesis, Metabolic Engineering, bioenergy.
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Anders Naar, Professor. Gene expression, microRNAs, Mammalian Cell Metabolism, Metabolic Diseases, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, NAFLD/NASH, cancer therapies .
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Joseph L. Napoli, Professor. Metabolism, nutritional biochemistry, fat-soluble vitamins, retinoids, retinoic acid, retinol, vitamin A, vitamin D, analytical biochemistry.
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James Olzmann, Assistant Professor. Cell biology, organelle biogenesis, lipid droplet regulation, lipotoxicity, lipid storage, cell death, protein quality control, systems biology, metabolic disease, cancer.
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Randy W. Schekman, Professor. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, organelle assembly, intracellular protein transport, assembly of cellular organelles, Alzheimer's Disease.
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Martyn T. Smith, Professor. Cancer, genomics, toxicology, molecular epidemiology, exposome.
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Hei Sook Sul, Professor. Plant biology, health and nutrition, nutritional sciences and toxicology.
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Nir Yosef, Assistant Professor. Computational biology.
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Emeritus Faculty

Bruce N. Ames, Professor Emeritus. Molecular biology, cancer, aging, mitochondrial decay, oxidants and antioxidants, micronutrient deficiencies and DNA damage, chronic inflammation and cancer.
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Nancy Amy, Professor Emeritus. Nutritional science and toxicology, nutrition, cell metabolism, trace elements.
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George W. Chang, Professor Emeritus. Microbial biology, health and nutrition, food safety.
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Ben De Lumen, Professor Emeritus. Cancer prevention, academic enterpreneurship.
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Barry Shane, Professor Emeritus. Plant biology, health and nutrition, nutritional sciences and toxicology.
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Montgomery Slatkin, Professor Emeritus. Evolutionary theory, genetic evolution, natural populations of plants and animals populations, human populations, natural selection structure genomes.
Research Profile

Judith P. Klinman, Professor. Catalytic and regulatory mechanisms in enzyme-catalyzed reactions, kinetic, spectroscopic, stereochemical biological techniques, peptide- derived cofactors, Nuclear tunneling and role of protein dynamics in catalysis, enzymatic activation of molecular oxygen.
Research Profile