Prof. Phoebe A. Rice (Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Microbiology) seeks to understand fundamental biological questions such as how DNA is rearranged; how proteins interact with DNA; and how mobile genetic elements jump. Her lab uses biochemistry, microbiology, and structural biology to piece together what happens at the molecular level. For example, their studies of different DNA recombinases have elucidated the elegant mechanisms used by microbes to cut and paste their own DNA. In their studies of how the bug MRSA acquired its drug resistance, they discovered unexpected genes for self-replication and a new way in which DNA synthesis can be initiated.
She is being recognized by the AAAS for “pioneering research in structural biology investigations of mechanisms of DNA bending and structural biology in microorganisms.”
Read the full story "Nine University of Chicago scholars named 2021 AAAS fellows" published January 26, 2022