Dr. James Kempf joins the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology after a postdoctoral position at Yale University.

Dr. Kempf's primary area of expertise is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, where his background in both experiment and theory dates from his doctoral study at Caltech and through his postdoctoral work on biomolecular systems at Yale.

His research also employs advanced methods of biochemistry and molecular biology for production, manipulation and study of isotopically labeled proteins and their derivatives.

His research focuses on complex dynamic phenomena in biological macromolecules. In particular, his group will explore the modulation of protein function by post-translational modifications, a phenomenon he hypothesizes to stem from changes in the motional dynamics of the protein. NMR spectroscopy, perhaps the most powerful experimental technique for elucidating the motion, will be strongly utilized by his research group.

Published August 29, 2005