Home | Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

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.

News & Publications

Kohli Lab in Scientific Reports
November 2020
Modular affinity-labeling of the cytosine demethylation base elements in DNA
Vinogradov Lab in J Biomed Opt
November 2020
Implantable sensor for local Cherenkov-excited luminescence imaging of tumor pO2 during radiotherapy
Liu and Kohli Labs in J Biol Chem
November 2020
TET-mediated 5-methylcytosine oxidation in tRNA promotes translation
Garcia Lab in Mol Cell Proteomics
November 2020
Accelerating the field of epigenetic histone modification through mass spectrometry-based approaches

Seminars & Events

Raiziss Rounds Seminar | Ostap Lab
Thurs, December 3, 2020 | 12 noon • on BlueJeans
Myosin: The force awakens (except when it doesn’t)
Friday Research & Development Discussions | Sandya Ajith, PhD
Fri, December 4, 2020 | 4 pm • on BlueJeans
A Conversation about Communication

Postdoc Spotlight

Hana Odeh

Dr. Hana Odeh has been a postdoc in the Shorter lab since November of 2018. Prior to coming to the Department, she worked on SUMO regulation in the lab of Dr. Michael Matunis at Johns Hopkins. In the Shorter lab, Hana works on strategies to prevent TDP-43 aggregation and dipeptide-repeat toxicity in C9-ALS/FTD. Her most recent findings on the effects of poly(GR) on TDP-43 aggregation were published in Science Translational Medicine (co-first author). In addition to her research, Hana has a passion for mentoring students and a strong commitment to social justice. She serves on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee in our Department, and leads efforts of anti-racism work in her lab and beyond. In her free time, Hana enjoys long-distance hiking and rock climbing.