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Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

	David Ardell Associate Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology Computational biology of gene expression systems, including: Structure, function, evolution and coevolution with genomes Functional and evolutionary bioinformatics of RNA and proteins Evolutionary and comparative genomics	dardell@ucmerced.edu (209) 228-2953 Full Profile
	Patricia LiWang Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology Biochemistry and biophysics Structural biology of chemokines Applications to HIV and inflammatory diseases	pliwang@ucmerced.edu (209) 228-4568 Full Profile
	Nestor Oviedo Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology Tissue regeneration Stem cells Cancer Planarian biology	noviedo2@ucmerced.edu (209) 228-4541 Full Profile
	Axel Visel Adjunct Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology	avisel@ucmerced.edu Full Profile
	Zhong Wang Adjunct Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology	zwang37@ucmerced.edu Full Profile
	Maria-Elena Zoghbi Associate Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology	mzoghbi@ucmerced.edu Full Profile
	Chris Amemiya Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology	camemiya@ucmerced.edu Full Profile
	Xuecai Ge Associate Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology We study mechanisms of cell signaling in the developing brain, focusing on primary cilium, the antenna-like organelle that integrate signaling pathways in the cell. Our research aims to shed light on how signaling errors lead to brain developmental disorders. Publications: Ge X, Yang H, Bednarek MA, Galon-Tilleman H, Chen P, Chen M, Lichtman JS, Wang Y, Dalmas O, Yin Y, Tian H, Jermutus L, Grimsby J, Rondinone, CM, Konkar A, Kaplan, DD. (2018) LEAP2 is an endogenous Antagonist of the Ghrelin Receptor. Cell Metabolism. 27(2): 461-469. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2017.10.01 Author of correspondence. Ge X, Milenkovic L, Suyama K, Hartl T, Winan A, Meyer T, Scott MP. (2015) Integration of Neuropilin with Hedgehog signal transduction through control of Phosphodiesterase 4 and protein kinase A. eLife. 4:e07068. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.07068. Ge X, Frank CL, Calderon de Anda F, Tsai LH. (2010) Hook3 and PCM1 regulate neurogenesis by controlling the centrosome dynamics and interkinetic nuclear migration. Neuron 65:191-203	xge2@ucmerced.edu Full Profile
	Ramen Saha Associate Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology Epigenetic mechanisms of neuronal gene transcription and their role in mental health.	rsaha3@ucmerced.edu (209) 228-2425 Full Profile
	Clarissa Nobile Professor, Molecular & Cell Biology Professor Nobile's research is directed toward understanding the molecular and mechanistic basis of microbial communities. Her lab is interested in investigating how transcriptional networks underlie the regulation of gene expression during biofilm development. Much of this work is carried out in the species Candida albicans, the most prevalent fungal pathogen of humans. The lab is also beginning to study interspecies interactions between different fungal and bacterial species. Questions that the lab is currently pursuing include: How are microbial communities regulated? How are microbial communities built? How are their unique and specialized properties maintained? How have microbial communities evolved?	cnobile@ucmerced.edu (209) 228-2427 Full Profile