Raquel Lieberman is the Sepcic-Pfeil Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. Her research program focuses on the biophysical and structural characterization of proteins and on understanding how disease-associated mutations affect protein function or dysfunction (e.g., aggregation). Rooted in basic research, the long-term goal of her work is to translate mechanistic discoveries into disease-modifying therapies.

One major focus of her research is glaucoma-associated myocilin, a project that has been funded by the NIH since March 2011. Her lab has made significant progress toward a detailed molecular understanding of myocilin structure, function, and disease pathogenesis. This work has revealed similarities between myocilin-associated glaucoma and other protein misfolding disorders, particularly amyloid diseases. Collectively, these efforts are paving the way toward the first disease-modifying therapeutic for glaucoma.

Lieberman also has extensive experience in the study of membrane enzymes. During her thesis work, she solved the first crystal structure of the copper-dependent particulate methane monooxygenase. As a postdoctoral researcher, she shifted her focus to intramembrane aspartyl proteases (IAPs), particularly those involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. In her independent laboratory, she developed new proteomics-based assays to measure IAP proteolysis. Her lab also collaborates with physicists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to use neutron scattering to probe protein structure and lipids in solution. This work has been funded by both the NSF and NIH.

In addition to her research activities, Lieberman serves on the Executive Council of the Protein Society and as an academic editor for PLoS Biology. She is also co-PI of the Department of Education GAANN program in Biochemistry and Biophysics at Georgia Tech and serves on a variety of advisory committees.

Dr. Gabe Kwong is a Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Tech School of Engineering and Emory School of Medicine. His research program is conducted at the interface of the life sciences, medicine and engineering where a central focus is understanding how to harness the sophisticated defense mechanisms of immune cells to eradicate disease and provide protective immunity. Kwong has pioneered numerous biomedical technologies and published in leading scientific journals such as Nature Biotechnology and Nature Medicine. His work has been profiled broadly including coverage in The Economist, NPR, BBC, and WGBH-2, Boston 's PBS station. Professor Kwong earned his B.S. in Bioengineering with Highest Honors from the University of California, Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from California Institute of Technology with Professor James R. Heath. He conducted postdoctoral studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Professor Sangeeta N. Bhatia. For his work, Dr. Kwong has been awarded the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, named a "Future Leader in Cancer Research and Translational Medicine" by the Massachusetts General Hospital, and awarded the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, a distinction given to the 10 most innovative bioengineers in the nation. Dr. Kwong holds seven issued or pending patents in cancer nanotechnology.

Julia Kubanek serves as Georgia Tech’s Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research and is a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In this role, she oversees and supports interdisciplinary activities at Georgia Tech including the Interdisciplinary Research Institutes (IRIs); the Pediatric Technology Center (PTC), the Novelis Innovation Hub; the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging (CABI); and the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI). She also partners across the institute on developing and advancing new research initiatives based on student and faculty interests, expertise, and societal need.

Kubanek has held several previous leadership roles at Georgia Tech, including Associate Dean for Research in the College of Sciences and Associate Chair in the School of Biological Sciences. She joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2001. Her areas of research interest include chemical signaling among organisms (especially in aquatic systems), natural products chemistry, metabolomics, chemical biology, and drug discovery. She has authored approximately 100 research articles on marine plankton and coral reef chemical ecology, and on the discovery, mechanism of action, and biosynthesis of marine natural products. She was awarded the NSF CAREER Award in 2002, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2004, and was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012. In 2016, she served as chair of the Gordon Research Conference in Marine Natural Products; since 2016, she has chaired the Scientific Advisory Board of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. Kubanek received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Queen’s University, Canada, in 1991 and her Ph.D. in at the University of British Columbia in 1998, and performed postdoctoral research at the University of California – San Diego and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Kim joined the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering as an Assistant Professor in July 2013. Prior to his current appointment, he was a Postdoctoral Associate in the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, where he developed biomimetic microsystems for probing nanoparticle behaviors in the inflamed endothelium and for synthesizing therapeutic and diagnostic nanomaterials. His doctorate research at CMU focused on closed-loop microfluidic control systems for lab-on-a-chip applications to biochemistry and developmental biology. Prior to his Ph.D., he was a researcher in areas of dynamics, controls, and robotics at R&D Divisions of Hyundai-Kia Motors and Samsung Electronics for six years.

Yonggang Ke's research is highly interdisciplinary combining chemistry, biology, physics, material science, and engineering. The overall mission of his research is to use interdisciplinary research tools to program nucleic-acid-based "beautiful structures and smart devices" at nanoscale, and use them for scientific exploration and technological applications. Specifically, his team focuses on (1) developing new DNA self-assembly paradigms for constructing DNA nanostructures with greater structural complexity, and with controllable sizes and shapes; (2) developing new imaging or drug delivery systems based on DNA nanostructuresl; (3) exploring design of novel DNA-based nanodevices for understanding basic biological questions at molecular level; (4) developing DNA-templated protein devices for constructing artificial bio-reactors.

For cancer-related research/application, Ke will focus on using DNA/RNA nanostructures as drug delivery vehicles. He is also interested in using DNA/RNA nanostructures to study cancer cell biology at molecular level.

Ravi Kane is the Garry Betty/V Foundation Chair and GRA Eminent Scholar in Cancer Nanotechnology. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 1993. Also, he received an M.S. in Chemical Engineering Practice and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT, working with Bob Cohen and Bob Silbey. After postdoctoral research with George Whitesides in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, he joined Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) as an assistant professor in 2001. He was promoted to associate professor in 2006, to full professor in 2007, and to the P.K. Lashmet Professor in 2008. He served as the head of RPI’s Howard P. Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering before moving to Georgia Tech in 2015. Prof. Kane has graduated 27 Ph.D students and contributed to over 130 scientific publications.

Nicholas Hud was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He received his B.S. degree in physics from Loyola Marymount University. His Ph.D. was conferred by the University of California, Davis for physical investigations of DNA condensation by protamine. From 1992-1995 he was a postdoctoral fellow in the biology and biotechnology research program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with Rod Balhorn. From 1995-1998 he was an NIH postdoctoral fellow in the Molecular Biology Institute at UCLA where he worked with Juli Feigon and Frank A. L. Anet on the application of NMR spectroscopy to the study of DNA-cation interactions. Hud joined the faculty at Georgia Tech as an assistant professor in 1999 and was promoted to full professor in 2008. He has been visiting professor of chemistry at the National NMR Center in Slovenia, and at Imperial College London. Hud currently serves as PI of the NSF Center for Chemical Evolution, as chair of the biochemistry division of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, as co-director of the Georgia Tech-Emory University Center for Fundamental and Applied Molecular Evolution (FAME), and as associate director of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.

Robert E. Guldberg is the DeArmond Executive Director of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and Vice President of the University of Oregon. Guldberg’s research is focused on musculoskeletal mechanobiology, regenerative medicine, and orthopaedic medical devices. Over his 25+ year academic career, Dr. Guldberg has produced over 280 peer-reviewed publications, served as an advisor and board member for numerous biotechnology companies, and co-founded six start-ups. He was previously executive director of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech from 2009-2018. In 2018, he was selected from a national search to lead the Knight Campus as its inaugural permanent Executive Director, where he has led the creation of its strategic plan, hired faculty into the campus’ first building opened in 2020, and launched the University of Oregon’s first ever engineering degree program. In 2021, he led the launch of Phase 2 of the Knight Campus development with the announcement of a second $500 million gift from Phil and Penny Knight. At the national level, Dr. Guldberg is past Chair of the Americas Chapter of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS-AM). He currently serves on the Executive Leadership Council of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, a $220 million global initiative to promote wellness and peak performance through scientific discovery and innovation. Dr. Guldberg is an elected fellow of TERMIS, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).