Elizabeth Thrall

Elizabeth Thrall is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Fordham University, located within the College of Arts and Sciences. She is affiliated with the JMH 628/630 laboratory and holds office in JMH 632. Her research focuses on biophysical chemistry, particularly DNA replication mechanisms, translesion synthesis, and enzymatic interactions in organisms like Bacillus subtilis. She employs advanced techniques such as single-molecule imaging to study replication fork dynamics and TLS pathway regulation. Additionally, she develops machine learning-based approaches for undergraduate chemistry education, enhancing hypothesis-driven experimentation and functional group identification in spectroscopy.

Her research interests include the roles of DNA damage tolerance factors, clamp-protein interactions, and replication stalling. Key findings involve the coordination of replicative polymerases with sliding clamps and the constitutive role of translesion polymerases in replication machinery. She also explores the compartmentalization of replication forks and the activation of single-stranded DNA-binding proteins during stress.

Her publications highlight contributions to understanding TLS pathway choice, enzymatic gatekeeping, and methodological standards for DNA repair studies. Her work bridges fundamental biochemistry with pedagogical innovations, integrating computational tools into laboratory curricula. She leads a research lab focused on single-molecule visualization and bacterial DNA repair mechanisms.