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About Steve Reichow

Research in the Reichow Lab is inspired by the molecular mechanisms driving biology. Our research applies biochemical methods, coupled with high-resolution imaging and structure determination by electron cryo-microscopy (cryoEM) to describe the functional mechanisms of membrane proteins and cell-signaling complexes. We aim to understand membrane protein function, and what goes wrong in disease, by characterizing their mechanisms of action and modes of regulation at the molecular and atomic levels using cryoEM.

We are using cryoEM to describe the functional mechanisms of membrane proteins and cell-signaling complexes. Membrane proteins act as the gatekeepers for the cell, controlling the flow of chemical information across the barrier of a cell membrane. This class of proteins facilitate many complex biological phenomena – from producing the rhythm of our heart beat and transmitting the electro-chemical signals that form our thoughts, to detecting light, sound, touch, as well as our tastes and smells that provide our senses to the world around us. Because of their important biological functions, membrane proteins are among the most heavily targeted class of proteins for fighting disease.

In order to coordinate these complex phenomena, membrane proteins associate with a variety of cell-signaling complexes capable of temporally and spatially regulating their activity. We are keenly interested in understanding the physical mechanisms of how the flow of chemical information that passes through membrane channels gets dynamically modulated (or gated) by various cellular signals (such as calcium, cAMP, and pH) and regulatory proteins (such as calmodulin and various kinases and phosphatase). By providing a mechanistic understanding to the processes regulating membrane proteins, we will enable pharmaceutical and genetic approaches aimed at treating the many pathologies associated with their misregulation.


Positions

2017 - Present Member, Oregon Health and Science University ‐ Portland Institute for Computational Science
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2015 - Present Affiliate Assistant Professor, Oregon Health and Science University ‐ Department of Biochemistry
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2014 - Present Assistant Professor, Portland State University Chemistry
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2014 - Present Member, Oregon Health and Science University ‐ OHSU Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine
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2011 - 2014 Postdoctoral Researcher, Howard Hughes Medical Institute ‐ Janelia Research Campus
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2007 - 2011 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington ‐ Department of Biochemistry
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Curriculum Vitae




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Honors and Awards

  • NIH MIRA Award for Early Stage Investigators (2017)
  • New Investigator Award, Medical Research Foundation of Oregon 2015
  • National Institutes of Health LRP Award (2011–2013)
  • Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA, NEI) 2009–2011
  • B.S. degree awarded with honors (cum laude) 2001
  • Academic Scholarship & Dean’s List (1996–2001)

Education

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1996 - 2011 BS, University of St. Thomas, Saint Paul ‐ Biology
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2001 - 2006 PhD, University of Washington ‐ Chemistry/Structural Biology
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Contact Information

Steve Reichow -- Assistant Professor, Chemistry

Phone:  (503) 725 7766
Office: CLSB 3N022

Portland State University
Chemistry - Liberal Arts & Sciences (CHEM) 
PO Box 751
Portland, OR 97207


Recent Works (10)

Previous Works (19)