Yuval Mazor

Yuval Mazor is an Associate Professor at Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences and a member of the Biodesign Institute. His research focuses on structural biology of photosynthetic membrane complexes, particularly photosystem I and its interactions with light-harvesting proteins. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. from Tel Aviv University, where he studied telomere maintenance and photosynthetic complexes. Mazor has been affiliated with the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and the Global Drylands Center.

His education includes a Ph.D. in microbiology and biotechnology from Tel Aviv University (2009), followed by postdoctoral work on cyanobacterial photosynthesis with Prof. Nathan Nelson. He teaches courses such as Photosynthesis Past and Present (BCH598/BCH494) and Structural Biology of Photosynthetic Systems (BCH561). His research group explores energy transfer dynamics in photosynthetic systems, using structural, biochemical, and genetic approaches to study membrane protein complexes.

Key research areas include: structural analysis of photosystem I supercomplexes, light-harvesting pigment organization, stress-induced antenna modifications (e.g., IsiA supercomplexes), and high-resolution crystallography of plant and cyanobacterial systems. His work bridges biophysics, biochemistry, and molecular biology to understand photosynthetic efficiency mechanisms.

Mazor collaborates with institutions globally, including the University of Arizona and the Max Planck Institute. He has advised multiple students through undergraduate research programs (BIO495) and honors thesis projects (BCH493), focusing on biochemistry and structural biology techniques. His lab utilizes advanced methods like cryo-EM, nanodisc technology, and frequency-domain spectroscopy.

Affiliated labs/centers include the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and the Global Drylands Center, where his work intersects with sustainability and environmental adaptation mechanisms in photosynthetic organisms.