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Kathleen Howard

Edward Hicks Magill Professor of Mathematics & Natural Sciences and Professor Of Chemistry

Department Chair

Physical Chemistry

Contact

  1. Email:khoward1@swarthmore.edu
  2. Phone: (610) 328-8519
  3. Science Center 268
  1. Research Lab

Education
A.B., Chemistry, Princeton University
Ph.D., Chemistry, Yale University
Postdoctoral Fellow, Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania

Teaching
I teach at all levels of the curriculum including physical chemistry, integrated experimental chemistry, introductory chemistry, and advanced topics seminars in biophysical chemistry.

Research
The research in my lab focuses on the use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the structural and dynamic properties of membrane-bound molecules. Membrane proteins carry out many important biological functions including transport of material across membrane and acting as receptors. We are interested in developing and applying electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic techniques to the study of membrane associated proteins.

Recent publications  *Undergraduate co-author

Kyaw, A.*, Roepke K.*,  Arthur, T.*  and Howard, K.P.  (2023) Conformation of influenza AM2 membrane protein in nanodiscs and liposomes. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta- Biomembranes, in press.

Kim G.*, Raymond, H.E.*, Herneisen, A.L.*, Wong-Rolle, A.* and Howard, K.P.  (2019) The distal cytoplasmic tail of the influenza A M2 protein dynamically extends from the membrane. Biochimica Biophysica Acta – Biomembranes, 1861, 1421-1427.  DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2019.05.021

Crouch, C., Bost, M.*, Kim, T.*, Green, B.*, Arbuckle, D.S.*, Grossman, C. and Howard, K.P.  (2018) Optimization of Detergent-Mediated Reconstitution of Influenza A M2 Protein into Proteoliposomes. Membranes, 8, 103. DOI:10.3390/membranes8040103

Herneisen, A.L.*, Sahu, I.D., McCarrick, R.M., Feix, J.B., Lorigan, G.A. and Howard, K. P.  (2017) A Budding-Defective M2 Mutant Exhibits Reduced Membrane Interaction, Insensitivity to Cholesterol, and Perturbed Interdomain Coupling. Biochemistry, 56, 5955.  DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.7b00924

Kim, S.*, Upshur, M.A.*, Saotome, K.*, Sahu, I.D., McCarrick, R.M., Feix, J.B., Lorigan, G.A. and Howard, K. P.  (2015) Cholesterol dependent conformational exchange of the C-terminal domain of the influenza A M2 protein. Biochemistry, 2015, 54 (49), 7157. DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.5b01065

Huang, S.*, Green, B.,* Thompson, M.*, Chen, R.*, Thomaston, J., DeGrado, W. and Howard, K.P. (2015) C-terminal juxtamembrane region of the full-length M2 protein forms a membrane surface associated amphipathic helix.  Protein Science, 24, 426. (selected as a "Highlight" of the issue by the journal editors) DOI: 10.1002/pro.2631

To learn more about my research please visit my research group webpage.