
Brian F. Volkman, PhD
Professor
Locations
- Biochemistry
TBRC C3815
Contact Information
Education
BS, Butler University, 1989
Biography
Dr. Volkman obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Physics from Butler University in 1989 and his Doctorate degree from The University of California at Berkeley. The latter was awarded in 1994 for structural studies on proteins involved in bacterial gene regulation using NMR spectroscopy. Dr. Volkman's postdoctoral training was in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2000, Dr. Volkman started at the Medical College of Wisconsin where he is Professor in the Biochemistry Department. Dr. Volkman's work focuses on the structural biology of immunological signaling molecules and the use of NMR spectroscopy in structural proteomics.
Research Experience
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Binding Sites
- Chemokine CCL21
- Chemokine CXCL12
- Chemokines
- Chemokines, C
- Chemokines, CXC
- Chemotaxis
- Computational Biology
- Crystallography, X-Ray
- Dimerization
- Drug Design
Research Interests
Our goal is to invent new ways to treat cancer and other ailments by examining the three-dimensional architecture of proteins involved in disease and synthesizing new drug candidate molecules. This research links the expertise of chemists, structural biologists, and clinician-scientists who collaborate in the design and testing of potential therapies. Graduate students in my group have invented and patented new compounds that show promise as treatments for cancer and psoriasis. Your donation helps us accelerate the drug development process by paying for preclinical studies that most research grants simply won’t support - bridging the gap between our basic science discoveries and clinical trials.
We use NMR spectroscopy and many other techniques to (1) understand the transmission of biological signals in terms of molecular structure, recognition and dynamics and (2) exploit this knowledge for the design and discovery of new molecules with practical utility as research tools, bioactive nanomaterials, or new drugs.
Dynamics and folding. Protein function is exquisitely dependent on compactly folded structures that combine energetic stability with intrinsic flexibility. Our work has revealed surprising new examples of conformational variability and altered the established paradigm for protein folding to include the new category of ‘metamorphic’ proteins. We are now trying to define the thermodynamic and evolutionary origins of metamorphic folding using the divergence of human lymphotactin from the rest of the chemokine family as a prototypical example. Other projects analyze novel modes of conformational switching that control cell polarity and enzyme activity.
Molecular recognition. Biological signals are often controlled by promoting or disrupting the interaction between two proteins. Many chemokines have been directly implicated in human diseases. Compounds that block chemokine signaling might function as inhibitors of inflammation, cancer progression, viral infection or autoimmune disease. We recently used NMR to solve the structure of the first chemokine-receptor complex, and subsequently used the details of this interface to search for small molecule ligands that bind the chemokine and block its activity. A hybrid in silico/NMR approach to inhibitor screening is now being used to target multiple chemokines with the ultimate goal of drug discovery to treat metastatic cancer and psoriasis.
Lab Photo
Back Row L. to R.: Chris Veldkamp, Francis Peterson, Rob Tyler, Anthony Getschman (hands), Austin Jiang,
Alex Chadwick, Davin Jensen, Dustin Whitney and Josh Weiner
Middle Row L. to R.: Chad Koplinski, Amanda Nevins
First Row L. to R.: Dr. Brian Volkman, Echo the dog, Jamie Wieting, Becky Holme
Publications
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Investigations on T cell transmigration in a human skin-on-chip (SoC) model.
(Ren X, Getschman AE, Hwang S, Volkman BF, Klonisch T, Levin D, Zhao M, Santos S, Liu S, Cheng J, Lin F.) Lab Chip. 2021 Feb 22 PMID: 33616124 02/23/2021
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(Chi YI, Stodola TJ, De Assuncao TM, Levrence EN, Tripathi S, Dsouza NR, Mathison AJ, Basel DG, Volkman BF, Smith BC, Lomberk G, Zimmermann MT, Urrutia R.) Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2021 Feb 05;16(1):66 PMID: 33546721 PMCID: PMC7866879 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85100579633 02/07/2021
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Evolution of fold switching in a metamorphic protein.
(Dishman AF, Tyler RC, Fox JC, Kleist AB, Prehoda KE, Babu MM, Peterson FC, Volkman BF.) Science. 2021 01 01;371(6524):86-90 PMID: 33384377 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85099153095 01/02/2021
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The chemokine X-factor: Structure-function analysis of the CXC motif at CXCR4 and ACKR3.
(Wedemeyer MJ, Mahn SA, Getschman AE, Crawford KS, Peterson FC, Marchese A, McCorvy JD, Volkman BF.) J Biol Chem. 2020 10 02;295(40):13927-13939 PMID: 32788219 PMCID: PMC7535910 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85092681956 08/14/2020
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Specific binding-induced modulation of the XCL1 metamorphic equilibrium.
(Dishman AF, Peterson FC, Volkman BF.) Biopolymers. 2020 Sep 28:e23402 PMID: 32986858 09/29/2020
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Chemokine CCL28 Is a Potent Therapeutic Agent for Oropharyngeal Candidiasis.
(He J, Thomas MA, de Anda J, Lee MW, Van Why E, Simpson P, Wong GCL, Grayson MH, Volkman BF, Huppler AR.) Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2020 07 22;64(8) PMID: 32423961 PMCID: PMC7526824 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85088608725 05/20/2020
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(Babu FS, Liang X, Enten GA, DeSantis AJ, Volkman BF, Gao X, Majetschak M.) Sci Rep. 2020 07 09;10(1):11359 PMID: 32647374 PMCID: PMC7347544 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85087690704 07/11/2020
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(Elmansi AM, Hussein KA, Herrero SM, Periyasamy-Thandavan S, Aguilar-Pérez A, Kondrikova G, Kondrikov D, Eisa NH, Pierce JL, Kaiser H, Ding KH, Walker AL, Jiang X, Bollag WB, Elsalanty M, Zhong Q, Shi XM, Su Y, Johnson M, Hunter M, Reitman C, Volkman BF, Hamrick MW, Isales CM, Fulzele S, McGee-Lawrence ME, Hill WD.) Bone Rep. 2020 Jun;12:100270 PMID: 32395570 PMCID: PMC7210406 05/13/2020
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Switchable Membrane Remodeling and Antifungal Defense by Metamorphic Chemokine XCL1.
(Dishman AF, Lee MW, de Anda J, Lee EY, He J, Huppler AR, Wong GCL, Volkman BF.) ACS Infect Dis. 2020 05 08;6(5):1204-1213 PMID: 32243126 PMCID: PMC7258946 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85084720920 04/04/2020
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Structural Features of an Extended C-Terminal Tail Modulate the Function of the Chemokine CCL21.
(Moussouras NA, Hjortø GM, Peterson FC, Szpakowska M, Chevigné A, Rosenkilde MM, Volkman BF, Dwinell MB.) Biochemistry. 2020 04 07;59(13):1338-1350 PMID: 32182428 PMCID: PMC7307649 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85083041593 03/18/2020
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(Babu FS, Liang X, Enten GA, DeSantis AJ, Volkman BF, Gao X, Majetschak M.) Scientific Reports. 1 December 2020;10(1) SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85087690704 12/01/2020
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(Elmansi AM, Hussein KA, Herrero SM, Periyasamy-Thandavan S, Aguilar-Pérez A, Kondrikova G, Kondrikov D, Eisa NH, Pierce JL, Kaiser H, Ding KH, Walker AL, Jiang X, Bollag WB, Elsalanty M, Zhong Q, Shi Xm, Su Y, Johnson M, Hunter M, Reitman C, Volkman BF, Hamrick MW, Isales CM, Fulzele S, McGee-Lawrence ME, Hill WD.) Bone Reports. June 2020;12 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85084158144 06/01/2020