Biochemical Mechanisms in Medicine - Research
Research within the Biochemical Mechanisms in Medicine (BMM) discipline is distinguished by its focus on understanding the underlying mechanisms of biological processes. Approaches to these problems used in the research programs of discipline faculty range from the cellular level; dissecting out signaling pathways and modes of action of specific enzymes and macromolecular machines in the cell, to the atomic level; resolving the structural details of macromolecules and their complexes. It is this understanding of molecular mechanisms that has been central to the modern revolution in drug discovery, where small molecules can be individually tailored to their specific targets. To facilitate these mechanistic discoveries, the Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology has invested heavily in core facilities that provide a wide array of state-of-the-art technologies including:
- Structual Biology Core
- Mass Spectrometry Laboratory
- High Throughput/Content Screening Facility and Medicinal Chemistry
Because of the basic mechanistic approaches utilized within the BMM, discipline, labs work on research of relevance to many organ systems and diseases, particularly with respect to the development of new therapeutics. For example:
- Cancer: Ivanov, Libich, Gupta, Shiio, Sung, Jiang, Nicholson
- Neuroscience/Aging: Lafer, Fitzpatrick, Jiang, Sousa, Shapiro, Brenner, Stockand, Musi
- Infectious Disease: LoVerde, Ivanov, Lafer, Serwer
In addition, several different basic biological processes are investigated by our laboratories
UT San Antonio Institutes and Centers
UT San Antonio operates centers and institutes within nine organized research units, as well as institutes and centers such as our NCI-designated Mays Cancer Center.
Core Facilities
The core facilities provide researchers with access to state-of-the-art instrumentation and consultation, including access to advanced research technologies.