T. Richard Nichols

T. Richard Nichols

T. Richard Nichols

Professor

T. Richard Nichols received the B.S. degree in biology from Brown University, Providence, RI, USA, in 1969, and the Ph.D. degree in physiology from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA, in 1974. He is currently a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology.,He is currently a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.

trn@gatech.edu

404-894-3986

Office Location:
555 14th Street NW Room 1352

  • http://biosci.gatech.edu/people/richard-nichols
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    Research Focus Areas:
    • Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics
    • Neuroscience
    Additional Research:
    The work in this laboratory is focused on mechanisms underlying motor coordination in mammalian systems. These mechanisms are to be found in the structure and dynamic properties of the musculoskeletal system as well as in the organization of neuronal circuits in the central nervous system. Our work concerns the interactions between the musculoskeletal system and spinal cord that give rise to normal and abnormal movement and posture, and in the manner in which central pattern-generating networks are modified for specific motor tasks. Our studies have applications in several movement disorders, including spinal cord injury. The experimental approaches span a number of levels, from mechanical studies of isolated muscle cells to kinematic measurements of natural behavior in quadrupeds.

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    Frank Rosenzweig

    Frank Rosenzweig

    Frank Rosenzweig

    Professor

    Frank Rosenzweig is a Professor in School of Biological Sciences. He holds Bachelors degrees in Comparative Literature and Zoology from University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and a PhD in Biology at University of Pennsylvania. He carried out postdoctoral studies at the University of Michigan. He was a professor at University of Idaho, University of Florida, and University of Montana before joining the Georgia Tech faculty in 2016. He served as the Director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute funded center “Reliving the Past” from 2015 to 2019.  His research group studies the ecological and evolutionary forces that produce and preserve genetic variation using experimental evolution  to illuminate how genetic variation maps onto organismal fitness.

    frank.rosenzweig@biology.gatech.edu

    404-385-4458

    Office Location:
    EBB 2007

    Website

  • http://biosci.gatech.edu/people/frank-rosenzweig
  • Research Focus Areas:
    • Molecular Evolution
    • Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics
    • Systems Biology

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    Stephen Diggle

    Stephen Diggle

    Stephen Diggle

    Associate Professor

    I graduated in Biological Sciences (B.Sc, University of Salford, 1997) prior to undertaking a Ph.D in molecular microbiology studying quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (University of Nottingham, 2001). I worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Nottingham on both EU and BBSRC funded grants, before obtaining a Royal Society University Fellowship (2006-2014). I was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013. In 2017 I moved as an Associate Professor to the School of Biological Sciences at Georgia Tech. I was promoted to Full Professor in 2022. I was appointed as the Director of the Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection in January 2023. 

    I currently serve as the Deputy Editor in Chief of Microbiology, where I have previously served as editor and senior editor. I have also previously served on the editorial boards of FEMS Microbiology Letters, BMC Microbiology, Microbiology Open and Royal Society Open Science. I was an elected member of the Microbiology Society Council (2012-2016) and also served on their conference and policy committees. I was selected to be an American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer (2021-2023) and was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology in 2023. 

    In my spare time I play bass guitar. I recorded some original music in a band called Meaner and I currently play in a covers band called The Variants of Concern. I also have a long-standing interest in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

    stephen.diggle@biosci.gatech.edu

    404-385-5634

    Office Location:
    Cherry Emerson A110

    Website

  • http://biosci.gatech.edu/people/stephen-diggle
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    Additional Research:
    I am interested in cooperation and communication in microbes and how these are related to virulence, biofilms and antimicrobial resistance. I have a long standing interest in understanding how the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes disease, and am especially interested in how this organism evolves during chronic infections such as those found in cystic fibrosis lungs and chronic wounds.

    IRI Connections:

    Liang Han

    Liang Han

    Liang Han

    Associate Professor

    lhan41@mail.gatech.edu

    404-385-5219

    Office Location:
    EBB 3014

    Website

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    Research Focus Areas:
    • Neuroscience
    Additional Research:
    We use a combination of molecular, cellular, immunohistochemical, electrophysiological, genetic and behavioral approaches to understand how the nervous system receives, transmits and interprets various stimuli to induce physiological and behavioral responses. We are particularly interested in the basic mechanisms underlying somatosensation, including pain, itch and mechanical sensations. Somatosensation is initiated by the activation of the primary sensory neurons in dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia. We have discovered the molecular identity of itch-sensing neurons in the peripheral and provided novel insights into the mechanisms of itch sensation (Han et.al. 2013 Nature Neuroscience). We are currently investigating how chronic itch associated with cutaneous or systemic disorders is initiated and transmitted. We are also interested in the sensory innervation in the respiratory system. Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are leading causes of illness and significant public health burdens. We recently identified a subset of vagal sensory neurons mediating bronchoconstriction and airway hyperresponsiveness (Han et. al. 2017 Nature Neuroscience). We are investigating how the sensory innervations in the airway contribute to the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases.

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    Yajun Mei

    Yajun Mei

    Yajun Mei

    Yajun Mei is a Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech.

    Dr. Mei's research interests include change-point problems and sequential analysis in Mathematical Statistics; sensor networks and information theory in Engineering; as well as longitudinal data analysis, random effects models, and clinical trials in Biostatistics. 

    He received a B.S. in Mathematics from Peking University in P.R. China, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics with a minor in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He has also worked as a postdoc in Biostatistics for two years in the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA.

    ymei3@gatech.edu

    404-894-2334

    Office Location:
    Groseclose 343

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  • Research Focus Areas:
    • Bioinformatics

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    Harold Kim

    Harold Kim

    Harold Kim

    Professor

    harold.kim@physics.gatech.edu

    404-894-0080

    Office Location:
    Boggs B-83

    Website

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    Additional Research:
    I am interested in understanding (i) how transcription factors find their targets on DNA and activate transcription despite the presence of nucleosomes and (ii) how structural details of trans-activators and cis-elements quantitatively fine-tune gene regulation at the cellular level. The Harold Kim Lab is an experimental biophysics group studying the biophysics of the genome in the School of Physics atGeorgia Institute ofTechnology.A meter-long DNA is tightly packaged into chromosomes inside a micron-wide nucleus of a cell. Therefore, the genetic information is difficult to locate and process. Despite this formidable challenge, cells constantly convert the genetic code into appropriate amounts of proteins in a timely manner based on external signals. This interesting phenomenon is at the core of our research.

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    Christine Heitsch

    Christine Heitsch

    Christine Heitsch

    Professor

    Christine Heitsch is Professor of Mathematics at Georgia Tech, with courtesy appointments in Biological Sciences and Computational Science & Engineering as well as an affiliation with the Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience.

    She is also Director of the new Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology (SCMB), an NSF-Simons MathBioSys Research Center, and finishing her tenure directing the GT Interdisciplinary Mathematics Preparation and Career Training (IMPACT) Postdoctoral Program.

    Heitsch's research interests lie at the interface between discrete mathematics and molecular biology, specifically combinatorial problems "as motivated by" and "with applications to" fundamental biomedical questions like RNA folding.

    Students interested in pursuing graduate studies in discrete mathematical biology can do so through a number of GT PhD programs including Bioinformatics or Quantitative Biosciences as well as Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization (ACO), Computational Science & Engineering (CSE), and (of course) Mathematics.
     

    heitsch@math.gatech.edu

    404-894-4758

    Office Location:
    Skiles 211B

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    Research Focus Areas:
    • Systems Biology
    Additional Research:
    Heitsch's research interests lie at the interface between discrete mathematics and molecular biology, specifically combinatorial problems "as motivated by" and "with applications to" fundamental biomedical questions like RNA folding.

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    Pamela Bhatti

    Pamela Bhatti

    Pamela Bhatti

    Assistant Professor

    Dr. Pamela Bhatti is Professor and Associate Chair for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech. Her research is dedicated to overcoming sensory loss in human hearing through focused neural stimulation, and novel implantable sensors. Dr. Bhatti also conducts research in cardiac imaging to assess and monitor cardiovascular disease. She received her B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley (1989), her M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington (1993), and her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2006). In 2013, she earned an M.S. in Clinical Research from Emory University, and co-founded a startup company (Camerad Technologies) based on her research in detecting wrong-patient errors in radiology. Dr. Bhatti is the IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine, Editor-in-Chief; and, in 2017, received the Georgia Tech Class of 1934 Outstanding Interdisciplinary Activities Award.

    pamela.bhatti@ece.gatech.edu

    404-894-7467

    Office Location:
    MiRC 225

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    Research Focus Areas:
    • Cancer Biology
    • Drug Design, Development and Delivery
    • Neuroscience
    • Regenerative Medicine
    Additional Research:
    Biomedical sensors and subsystems including bioMEMS Neural prostheses: cochlear and vestibular Vestibular rehabilitation

    IRI Connections:

    Christoph Fahrni

    Christoph Fahrni

    Christoph Fahrni

    Professor
    Associate Chair for Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs

    Christoph Fahrni earned a master’s degree in chemistry from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH, Switzerland) and a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Basel (Switzerland). After working as a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), he joined the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1999.

    fahrni@chemistry.gatech.edu

    404-385-1164

    Office Location:
    Petit Biotechnology Building, Office 3310

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    Research Focus Areas:
    • Chemical Biology
    • Systems Biology
    Additional Research:
    Metals In Biological Systems. Approximately one third of all known proteins contain metal ions as cofactors and serve a wide variety of functions, such as structure stabilization, catalysis, electron transfer reactions or complex tasks, including signal transduction and gene regulation. Numerous diseases such as haemochromatosis or Menkes disease were found to be related with a defect in metal metabolism. Research is concerned with development of metal specific fluorescent probes for the investigation of the intracellular chemistry of trace elements, the mechanistic study of metalloprotein catalyzed reactions with unusual coordination geometries as well as the development of protein-based, semisynthetic organometallic catalysts in aqueous solution. Fluorescence Probes and Chelators for the Investigation of Intracellular Storage, Trafficking, and Homeostasis of Trace Elements. Until recently, little was known about how eukaryotic cells take up metal ions or regulate intracellular concentrations. Fluorescent chemosensors have been proven to be powerful and nondestructive tools for the study of intracellular metal ion distributions and have provided a wealth of information, including control of muscle contraction, nerve cell communication, hormone secretion, and immune cell activation. Research is concerned with the development of highly specific fluorescent probes for the detailed mechanistic investigation of copper storage and trafficking. Distribution and changes of intracellular copper concentration can be followed in vivo using fluorescence microscopy. Various combinatorial fluorophore libraries are being synthesized, which subsequently are screened for copper binding selectivity. Bioorganometallic Catalysis with Peptide and Protein Ligands. The distribution of metal ions in sea water can be directly correlated with their abundance in biological systems. Consequently, the platinum metals palladium, rhodium, iridium and platinum are not found in any of the natural occurring metalloproteins. Nevertheless, these cations are excellent catalysts for a wide variety of organometallic reactions. Research is focused on combining the rich chemistry of platinum metals with the advantage of proteins to catalyze reactions with high regio- and stereo-selectivity. Novel bioorganometallic catalysts are being developed via redesign of structurally well characterized proteins.

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    Ronghu Wu

    Ronghu Wu

    Ronghu Wu

    Associate Professor

    Research in the Wu lab is mainly focused on mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. They are developing innovative methods to globally identify and quantify proteins and their post-translational modifications (PTMs), including glycosylation and phosphorylation, and applying them for biomedical research. Protein PTMs plays essential roles in biological systems, and aberrant protein expression and modification are directly related to various human diseases, including cystic fibrosis, cancer and infectious diseases. Novel analytical methods will profoundly advance our understanding of protein function, which will lead to the identification of proteins or modified proteins as effective drug targets and the discovery of biomarkers for early disease detection.

    ronghu.wu@chemistry.gatech.edu

    404-385-1515

    Office Location:
    EBB 4011

    Website

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    Research Focus Areas:
    • Cancer Biology
    • Chemical Biology
    • Systems Biology

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