Professor Dr. James Spudich

Biography

James Spudich is the Douglass M. Nola Leishman Professor of Cardiovascular Disease, Emeritus, at Stanford University School of Medicine. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1963 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Stanford University in 1968. He pursued postdoctoral research in genetics at Stanford and in structural biology at the MRC Laboratory in Cambridge, England. He has held various academic positions at the University of California, San Francisco, including Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor, before returning to Stanford University as a Professor of Structural Biology and later in the Department of Biochemistry. His research focuses on the molecular basis of muscle contraction and the role of myosin family molecular motors in eukaryotic cells. His work employs biochemical, genetic, biophysical, and structural studies to unravel the mechanisms of actin-myosin interactions. His current research aims to elucidate the molecular basis of human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, particularly the effects of missense mutations in human ß-cardiac myosin. This research has potential implications for therapeutic interventions in cardiomyopathy.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards