Frederick Dahlquist

Frederick Dahlquist is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He holds a joint appointment with the MCDB Department and has been affiliated with UCSB since 2004. His research focuses on protein structure-function relationships, bacterial chemotaxis, and signal transduction mechanisms, primarily using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

Education: Dr. Dahlquist earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1969. He was a Miller Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, under Daniel E. Koshland, Jr., before joining the faculty at the University of Oregon. He transitioned to UCSB in 2004.

Research Interests: His lab investigates how protein dynamics and structure influence function, particularly in bacterial chemotaxis systems. Key projects include studying signal transduction pathways in E. coli, the role of Che proteins (CheY, CheA, CheZ), and NMR-based analyses of protein aggregation and interactions. Collaborations with other UCSB groups explore intrinsically unstructured proteins and nucleic acid methylation pathways.

Publications: His work spans over five decades, with recent contributions on bacterial flagellar motors, chemotaxis adaptation enzymes, and bioelectrochemical systems. Key themes include protein dynamics, enzyme regulation, and structural biology.

Advising: While no formal student list is provided, his publications frequently include graduate students and postdocs as co-authors. Collaborations involve interdisciplinary teams across departments.

Labs/Teams: His research integrates with UCSB’s Molecular Biology Institute and Chemistry Department, leveraging advanced NMR facilities and computational modeling.