Gabriel Brandt

Gabriel S. Brandt is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Franklin & Marshall College, specializing in chemical biology at the intersection of chemistry and biology. His research focuses on three key areas: malaria parasite virulence mechanisms, development of light-controlled biochemical tools, and studying coral protein structure under warming ocean conditions. He holds a B.A. from Reed College and a Ph.D. from Caltech, with postdoctoral training at Harvard and Johns Hopkins. His lab emphasizes structural biology methods like X-ray crystallography to investigate protein structures and interactions.

Dr. Brandt's work on Plasmodium falciparum explores how exported kinases contribute to red blood cell remodeling. His light-activated molecular tools aim to control biochemical processes in live cells. Collaborating with Prof. Peter Fields (Biology), his lab investigates thermal stability of coral metabolic proteins to understand climate change impacts. Recent grants include studies on improving cancer drug specificity and malaria kinase inhibitors.

• Education: B.A. Reed College, Ph.D. Caltech
• Key Collaborations: Prof. Peter Fields (Biology)
• Teaching: General Chemistry, Biochemistry courses (CHM 111/112/351/451)

Publications span malaria drug targets, coral protein structures, and educational biochemistry labs. His work balances basic science with translational goals in drug development and environmental biology.