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protein structures and brain images
Biophysics
Francesa Marassi, PhD

Francesca M. Marassi, PhD

Professor, Chair, and Eminent Scholar; Associate Director, MCW Cancer Center Shared Resources

Locations

  • Biophysics
    MFRC 2034

Contact Information

General Interests

Structure and function of protein-lipid assemblies

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow of the Medical Research Council (MRC) of Canada, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1995-1998
Postdoctoral Fellow of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1993-1995
PhD, Physical Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1993
MSc, Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1989
BSc, Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1987

Biography

I received my BS and MSc in chemistry and PhD in physical chemistry from University of Toronto in Canada. I was a postdoctoral fellow of the Medical Research Council of Canada and a postdoctoral fellow of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research of Canada at University of Pennsylvania. My first faculty appointment was at the University of Pennsylvania Wistar Institute. I went on to hold faculty and administrative appointments at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. I was appointed professor and chair of the MCW Department of Biophysics in 2022 and associate director of shared resources at the MCW Cancer Center in 2023.

Research Interests

Description of Research
My lab is interested in understanding the molecular basis of disease. We focus on the structures and functions of protein-lipid assemblies relevant in host-pathogen interactions, degenerative diseases of aging, and cancer-related programmed cell death. We work with samples that are close representatives of the native environment to establish authentic structure-activity profiles that can advance therapy development.

View the MCW Project Wonder piece on my lab's research into age-related macular degeneration.

Lab Members
Swapna Bera, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
Alyssa Kraft, Graduate Student
Rajlaxmi Panigrahi, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
Karthika Samimuthu, Research Associate
Kyungsoo Shin, PhD, Assistant Professor
Gopinath Tata, PhD, Assistant Professor
Nicholas Wood, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher


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