معرفی
Scott Showalter serves as Assistant Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Pennsylvania State University's Eberly College of Science. His research integrates biochemistry and physical chemistry principles to advance understanding of protein function, with particular focus on intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) in gene regulation systems.
Dr. Showalter earned his B.S. from Cornell University (1999), Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine (2004), and completed postdoctoral training at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (2005-2008). His laboratory has pioneered innovative 13C direct-detect NMR methodologies that overcome traditional technical barriers in studying IDPs, which are disproportionately prevalent in transcriptional machinery.
His research program spans three interconnected areas: investigating how IDPs facilitate dynamic protein-protein complex formation and respond to post-translational modifications; developing advanced NMR approaches specifically tailored for IDP structural studies; and applying these techniques to understand transcription factor function, histone modifications, and RNA polymerase dynamics. His work addresses critical knowledge gaps in understanding how disordered proteins carry out specific biological functions despite lacking stable tertiary structure.
Dr. Showalter's recent publications demonstrate expertise in developing NMR methods for studying protein modifications including lysine methylation and acetylation, histone tail dynamics, and structural transitions in disordered protein regions. His research bridges fundamental biophysical investigations with potential biomedical applications in understanding transcription mechanisms.
- Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2024
- Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2022
- Eberly College of Science Distinguished Faculty Mentoring Award, 2019
- Eastern Analytical Symposium New Faculty Award in NMR Spectroscopy, 2012
- NSF Career Award, 2010
As Assistant Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, Dr. Showalter plays a significant leadership role in graduate education at Penn State. His research program is supported by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, reflecting the significance of his contributions to biophysical methodology development. The Showalter Research Group maintains expertise in advanced NMR spectroscopy, thermodynamic analysis, chemical biology, and cellular assays.
His laboratory has made field-changing discoveries in demonstrating how IDP ensembles undergo mechanistically-relevant structural transitions, providing new insights into gene regulation mechanisms. By developing specialized NMR approaches, his team has been able to directly observe molecular changes in disordered proteins induced by biological inputs, advancing our understanding of a critical aspect of cellular function.
