معرفی
Douglas Theobald is a Professor and Chair of Biochemistry at Brandeis University, specializing in structural bioinformatics, molecular evolution, and protein structure-function analysis. His research integrates experimental and computational approaches, including X-ray crystallography, Bayesian methods, and ancestral protein resurrection, to study macromolecular evolution and functional dynamics.
- PhD, University of Colorado at Boulder
- BS, The University of Tennessee
His work focuses on understanding how proteins evolve novel structures and functions, with emphasis on likelihood/Bayesian superpositioning techniques, structural analysis of single-stranded nucleic acid-protein complexes, and thermodynamic modeling of evolutionary constraints. The lab employs interdisciplinary strategies to bridge structural biology, phylogenetics, and population genetics.
Key trends in his publications include evolutionary mechanisms, structural superposition accuracy, and convergent evolution in proteins like rhodopsins and dehydrogenases. Articles highlight applications of Bayesian statistics and computational tools (e.g., THESEUS) to macromolecular structure analysis.
- American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow (2004-2007)
- Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award (2007)
- Alberta Gotthardt and Henry Strage Award (2007)
- VELUX Visiting Professor (2015-2016)
Theobald's lab at Brandeis applies structural and evolutionary insights to engineer proteins with novel functions, using ancestral sequence reconstruction and molecular dynamics to dissect structure-function relationships. Collaborative projects span enzymology, membrane transport, and optogenetic tool development.
