Welcome to the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
As one of the first departments of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the nation, we are proud of our strong tradition of combining cutting-edge technology with impactful biology. We continue to leverage this interdisciplinary approach to yield break-through discoveries in biomedicine.
Our faculty of over 30 primary and secondary members cover a broad range of research areas, with particular strengths in structural biology, chemical biology, gene regulation and protein folding.
We are also the proud home of the Eldridge Reeves Johnson Research Foundation which offers advanced physical instrumentation and instruction to researchers across campus. We are actively growing, with several recent hires, and our faculty are broadly engaged across campus with many joint appointments in other departments, institutes and centers.
We welcome you to learn more about our department in the following pages or contact us.
Spotlight
Black Lab Published in Science
The Black Lab recently published a paper in Science, "Efficient formation of single-copy human artificial chromosomes." The paper highlights a significant breakthrough in the field of human artificial chromosomes (HACs) that could lead to more efficient laboratory research and better engineered cell therapies, including gene therapies for diseases like cancer. This work was done in collaboration with researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute, the University of Edinburgh, and the Technical University Darmstadt. For more information, see the press release published by Penn Medicine News here.
News & Publications
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Taabazuing Lab in Cells
Friday, February 16, 2024
New paper from the Taabazuing Lab, "Harnessing Pyroptosis for Cancer Immunotherapy"
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Bernstein Lab in DNA Repair
Friday, March 1, 2024
New paper from the Bernstein Lab, "Variants in the first methionine of RAD51C are homologous recombination proficient due to an alternative start site"
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Black Lab in Elife
Friday, March 8, 2024
New paper from the Black Lab, "Structural basis for the phase separation of the chromosome passenger complex"
Seminars & Events
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Raiziss Rounds Seminars
Our Spring 2023 Raiziss Rounds Seminar Series will begin on January 12th and will continue on Thursdays at 12:00 noon until May 25th. The full seminar schedule can be found on our Raiziss Rounds page.
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Friday Research Discussions
Friday Research Discussions occur every Friday at 4:00pm in the JF Library. View the full schedule for the semester here.