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

Gupta/Van Duyne Lab in Structure
December 2020
Allosteric HIV integrase inhibitors promote formation of inactive branched polymers via homomeric carboxy-terminal domain interactions
Petersson & Rhoads Labs in J Am Chem Soc
December 2020
Effects of Glutamate Arginylation on α-Synuclein: Studying an Unusual Post-Translational Modification through Semisynthesis
Vinogradov Lab in J Phys Chem
December 2020
Three-Photon Spectroscopy of Porphyrins
Shorter Lab in Life
December 2020
Therapeutic genetic variation revealed in diverse Hsp104 homologs

Seminars & Events

Friday Research Discussions | Chris Yarosh, PhD
Fri, January 22, 2021 | 4 pm • on BlueJeans
Pathways to Policy for Scientists at Any Level
Raiziss Rounds Seminars | Adam Cohen, PhD
Thurs, January 28 | 12 noon • on BlueJeans
Electrophysiology in space

Faculty Spotlight

E. James Petersson

E. James Petersson, Ph.D. is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania with a secondary appointment in our Department. His laboratory develops tools, such as novel chromophores and protein semi-synthesis, to investigate how peptides and proteins mediate cellular communication and how changes in the cellular environment catalyze protein misfolding and disfunction. Studies in the lab range from computational modeling, to detailed in vitro folding studies, to tracking protein aggregation in neurons, to the analysis of the role of post-translational modifications in controlling protein misfolding. An area of particular interest is the introduction of thioamide modifications to the peptide backbone, which can serve as protein folding probes, or stabilizers for improved therapeutic peptides or in vivo imaging reagents.