Chancellor’s Chair in Medicine
Departments of Biochemistry and Chemistry
Senior Associate Dean of Biomedical Education and Training,
School of Medicine Basic Sciences
Co-Director, Molecular Biophysics Training Program
Founding Director, Center for Structural Biology
Vanderbilt University
465 21st Avenue, S., Suite 5140
Nashville, TN 37240-7917
Tel. (615) 936-2210; FAX (615) 936-2211
E-mail: Walter.Chazin@vanderbilt.edu
Website: http://structbio.vanderbilt.edu/chazin/
Chazin’s research focuses on understanding the structure and function of biomolecules involved in genome maintenance and repair, innate immune response to pathogens, and inflammatory disorders. He utilizes integrative biochemistry, structural and chemical biology approaches to understand the interactions of proteins with partner proteins, DNA and small molecule ligands and the molecular basis for their cellular functions. Evolutionary conservation and divergence across organisms is used to shed light on fundamental molecular mechanisms.
Chazin has made significant contributions to the field of structural biology, as well as to understanding calcium signal transduction and the processing of DNA by multi-protein machinery. His research has implications for understanding the basis for cardiac arrhythmia syndromes, innate immune responses to infection, and cancer, which can reveal new avenues for developing therapies to treat disease.