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Lorena Sue Beese is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at Duke University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding biological processes at an atomic level through interdisciplinary strategies that employ macromolecular X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy. She aims to determine high-resolution, three-dimensional images of proteins and their complexes, combining structural information with biochemical, genetic, and computational analyses. This approach not only addresses fundamental questions in biology but also aids in the development of therapeutic agents for cancer treatment. Beese's research covers enzyme mechanisms, DNA repair processes, and the structural enzymology of lipid-modifying enzymes. Her laboratory employs structure-based drug design to develop inhibitors targeting protein prenyltransferases and DNA repair proteins. Currently, she investigates the structural understanding of protein-DNA assemblies involved in human mismatch repair, striving to elucidate the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases.
Department of Biomedical Engineering (MS program)