2009 Young Investigator Award
Brandt Eichman is an assistant professor in the
Departments of Biological Sciences and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University. He received a B.S. in chemistry at the University of Mississippi and his Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics at Oregon State University. His research interests include structural biology, biophysics and biochemistry of proteins and protein-nucleic acid complexes. He was a postdoctoral fellow from 2000-2004 in the laboratory of Tom Ellenberger in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School. There, he studied crystal structures and biochemical properties of DNA repair and replication enzymes. Research in his laboratory is focused on understanding how proteins recognize and manipulate DNA structure during replication and repair processes, which are critical for the prevention of genetic disease and cancer. Eichman and colleagues use X-ray crystallography and biochemistry to investigate the physical and mechanistic basis for the biological functions of several DNA processing enzymes. A Sigma Xi member, he also belongs to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Crystallographic Association and the American Chemical Society. Eichman is an ad hoc reviewer for Nature, Molecular Cell, PNAS, EMBO Journal, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Structure, Molecular and Cellular Biology and the Journal of Molecular Biology and DNA Repair. At Vanderbilt, he is an active member in the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Institute of Chemical Biology, Center for Structural Biology and Center in Molecular Toxicology.