Professor, Biochemistry
Year Started at JMU: 2011
wrightnt@jmu.edu
Contact Info
Curriculum Vitae
Website
Research Description
Our lab focuses on the molecular underpinning of how the cytoskeleton affects human disease. We use a wide variety of structural biology, biochemical, and cellular techniques to study the structure, function, and dynamics of proteins, both on their own and within the cell. Our scientific goal is to better understand the mechanisms employed by cells that allow them to simultaneously be strong and flexible, and characterize (and potentially fix!) what happens when these mechanisms go awry.
Related Scholarship
- Protein structure/function relationships
- NMR and X-ray protein structure determination
- Protein dynamics
- Small molecule and peptide agonist/antagonists of proteins
- Cell culture/biochemical assays
Education
- PhD in Biochemistry, 2008, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
- MS in Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2002, University of Pennsylvania
- BS in Biology, 2000, Haverford College, Haverford, PA
Select Publications
- Shultz KD, Ouderkirk SN, Al Anbari YF, White CJ, Henry P, Kubow KE, Conway DE, Miller CJ, Wright NT, Obscurin A localizes near the cell membrane to modulate stress fiber dynamics and cell migration, JBC, 2026 Mar 17;302(5)
- Eason M, Sen A, Lee SJ, et al., Pleckstrin Homology domains regulate PI3K/Akt to block breast cancer metastasis, Advanced Science 2026 Mar 30:e18339.
- Romov, IM, Nowzari, RA, Page, CP, Benes, MR, Borzok, MA, Wright, NT, Prevention of Protease-Induced Degradation of Desmoplakin via Small Molecule Binding. Pers. Med. 2024, 14(2)
- Yoder MW, Wright NT, Borkok MA, Calpain Regulation and Dysregulation and the Intercalated Disk, Intl. J. of Molec. Sci., Jul 2023, 24(14):11726
- Higgins CP, Ong M, Sedley A, Brothers J, Miller CJ, Wright NT, Bringing Biophysics Outreach to a Rural County Fair, The Biophysicist July 2023 4(2): 103-114
- Mauriello GE*, Moncure GE*, Nowzari, RA, Miller CJ, Wright NT, The N-terminus of obscurin exhibits significant flexibility in solution, Proteins 2023 Apr; 91(4): 485-496
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
