Maria Mills

Maria Mills is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Missouri, affiliated with the College of Arts and Science. Her research group focuses on understanding DNA-protein interactions using advanced biophysical techniques.

Education: PhD from the University of Michigan.

Research Interests: The Mills Lab employs magnetic tweezers, fluorescence microscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations to study topoisomerases and helicases. These proteins are critical for DNA structure maintenance and targeted in medical treatments. Techniques include simultaneous force/torque and fluorescent measurements to observe protein-DNA dynamics.

Labs/Teams: Mills Research Group investigates genome stability mechanisms with applications in antibiotic and chemotherapy development.