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Departments & Divisions
Institutes & Centers
Research
Bruce J. Nicholson, Ph.D.
Professor
Co-Director Center for Innovative Drug Discovery
Chief Scientific Officer, Hera Biotech, Inc.
Currently seeking M.S. & Ph.D. students
Dr. Bruce Nicholson, Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, is the co-Director of the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery and recently co-founded Hera Biotech Inc., a company focused on developing diagnostics for endometriosis. A native of Australia, Dr. Nicholson did his PhD and post-doctoral training at Caltech, and prior to moving to San Antonio was a faculty at the University at Buffalo. He has spent his career defining the molecular structure and properties of gap junctions, structures that mediate direct exchanges of ions and metabolites between cells.
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Professional Background
Education
- 1983 - PhD - Cell Biology; Neurobiology - California Institute of Technology
- 1976 - Honors (1st class) - Enzymology - University of Queensland
- 1975 - BSc - Biochemistry - University of Queensland
Training
- 1986 - Postdoctoral Fellow - Chemistry - California Institute of Technology
Highlights
1988: PEW Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences
1992 - 97: AHA Established Investigator
1993: Max Planck Prize
2001- 05: Editor-in Chief: Cell Communication and Adhesion
2003 - 05: Member, Faculty of 1000
2003 -:Member, Council for Canadian Chairs
2016 - 17: President - Association for Medical and Graduate Departments of Biochemistry
2020 - :Editor in Chief, Biochemistry and Biophysics Section - Life
Appointments
- 3/2004 - 8/2019 - Professor and Chair - UTHSCSA, Biochemistry, San Antonio
- 9/2005 - Cross-appointed Professor - UTHSCSA, Physiology Department
- 8/2012 - C-Director and Founder - UTUSCSA, Center for Innovative Drug Discovery
- 1986 - 2004 - Assistant Professor - Professor - University at Buffalo, SUNY, Dept. Biological Sciences
- 1994 - 2004 - Co-Director Center for Advanced Molecular Biology and Immunology - University at Buffalo, SUNY
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Instruction & Training
- 2019 - present, Discipline Coordinator, Biochemistry, Undergrad. Med. Curriculum, UTHSCSA, Long School of Medicine
- 2015 - 2020, Bioc 0003 Scientific Writing, UTHSCSA, Dept. Biochemistry
- 7/2012 - Present, Post-Doctoral Fellow Supervision, UTHSCSA Graduate School
- 2005 - present, INTD 5040 Fundamentals of Neuroscience I, UTHSCSA Graduate School
- 2004 - Present, Membership on Ph.D. Supervising Committees, UTHSCSA Graduate School
- 2004 - 2015, PhD Mentor, UTHSCSA Graduate School
- 2008-2016, INTD 5000 Fundamentals of Biomedical Sciences, UTHSCSA Graduate School
- 2006-2012, BIOC 6043 Structure/Function of Membrane Proteins, UTHSCSA, Dept. Biochemistry
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Research & Grants
All multicellular life forms integrate behavior through intecellular communication. The most direct, and ancient, way of achieving this is through gap junctions, arrays of pores between cells that allow exchanges of ions, nutrients, metabolites, and even peptides and microRNAs. We have been investigating the permeability characteristics of these pores, which have proven surprisingly selective depending on their protein composition, and investigating the mechanisms of their regulation. Recently, we have been examining the role of gap junctions in the invasive processes in cancer metastasis and endometriosis, including their potential as a diagnostic for the latter.
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Service
Department
2019 - pres. Chair, Education Comittee
2004 - 2019 Chairman, Depratment of Biochemistry and Structural Biology
2006 - pres. Biochemsitry Retreat Organizing Committee
School
2014 - pres. Executive Committee for BMM (prviously MBB) Discipline Committee
2015 - 2019 Recruitment Committee for IBMS Program
2015 - 2019 Executive Committee on Graduate Education, IBMS Program
2012 - 2019 Basic Science Chaors Council, LSOM
Institutional
2006 - pres. Chair of selection committee for restructed junior faculty awards
2015 - pres. Leadership Committee IIMS
2012 - pres. Chair, Steering Committee of Center for Innovative Drug Discovery
2013, 2016 Office of International Services Director Search Committee
2010 - 2012 Chair of working groups on Med. Chem., miRNA, Faculty Retention, CTRC
National
2019 - pres. Editor-in-Chief, Life - Section of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Computational Biology
2015 - 2017 President - Association of Medical and Graduate Departments of Biochemistry (AMGDB)
2013 - 2018 Executive Board of AMGDB
1994 - 2020 Member of NIH Study Sections [(CDF4 (reg.), ICI, NTRC, MDCN (ad hoc)]
Community
2012 - pres. Chair, Wildlife Education Committee, Fair Oaks Ranch
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Publications