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This section was provided courtesy of Dr. Thomas Traut in 2008

The Department of Biological Chemistry became an independent academic unit in 1935. In the earlier years of the twentieth century, the subject of biochemistry had been taught at UNC-Chapel Hill by professors holding an appointment within the Department of Physiology. Before 1938, biochemistry was completely taught by one professor. Only in 1939 did the department begin to grant the PhD degree.

With the creation of an independent department, the faculty expanded slowly to include five professors by 1950; 21 by 1975; and 30 in 2008. Student enrollment and PhDs awarded also increased as the department expanded. The annual scientific productivity is now at more than 150 papers published per year. In recent years an average doctoral student had just over 4 co-authored papers from dissertation research and was first author on two papers.

Changing Names of the Department through the years

1932 – 1932: Department of Physiology
1933 – 1935: Department of Physiology & Biological Chemistry
1935 – 1942: Department of Biological Chemistry
1943 – 1971: Department of Biological Chemistry & Nutrition
1971 – 1991: Department of Biochemistry & Nutrition
1991 – Present: Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics


Past and Present Chairs of the Department

1935 – 1937: Evan W. McChesney, PhD
1937 – 1957: James Clarence Andrews, PhD
1957 – 1971: Joseph Logan Irvin, PhD
1978 – 1989: Mary Ellen Jones, PhD – read our news article Mary Ellen Jones: A Woman of Many Firsts
1989 – 1993: Michael G. Douglas, PhD
1998 – 2005: David E. Lee, PhD
2006 – 2020: Leslie V. Parise, PhD
2022 – present: Jean G. Cook, PhD

 Evan W. McChesney, PhDChairs-image.jpg


Past Interim Chairs of the Department

1994 – 1997: William F. Marzluff, PhD
1997 – 1998: Ronald Swamstrom, PhD
2005 – 2006: Henrik G. Dohlman, PhD
2020 – 2022: Brian D. Strahl, PhD

Bill Marzluff PhDRon Swanstrom PhDDohlman_HenrikBrian Strahl, PhD


Chronology of the Department’s Growth: Entering Faculty

1920 through the 1930s:

K. B. Perrine
Frederick P. Brooks
Evan W. McChesney
James Clarence Andrews
Granvill C. Kyker
1923 – 1926
1926 – 1931
1933 – 1937
1937 – 1957
1938 – 1950

1940 through the 1950s:

Michael K. Berkut
Carl E. Anderson
Joseph Logan Irvin
John E. Wilson
Fred E. Bell
Ralph Penniall
1947 – 1980
1950 – 1980
1950 – 1983
1950 – 1990
1956 – 1994
1959 – 1986

1960 through the 1970s:

Edward Glassman
David Holbrook
Jan Hermans
Mary Ellen Jones
James R. White
Gerhard Meissner
Richard Wolfenden
Michael Caplow
Chi-Bom Chae
Stephen Chaney
Charles W. Carter, Jr.
Pierre Morell
Barry Lentz
Thomas Traut
1960 – 1983
1963 – 1995
1963 – 2004
1965 – 1992
1968 – 1987
1974 – 2021
1970 – 2018
1972 – 2015
1972 – 1994
1974 – 2012
1974 –
1975 – 2003
1975 – 2018
1978 – 2017

1980 through the 1990s:

Patricia F. Maness
Aziz Sancar
Stephen Crews
Howard M. Fried
Ronald Swanstrom
Gwendolyn Sancar
Ann Erickson
Michael G. Douglas
Laura Kalfayan
Brian Popko
Jean-Michel Vos
Mary Sue Coleman
Hengming Ke
George Rose
William F. Marzluff
Sharon L. Campbell
Beverly Errede
David E. Lee
Yi Zhang
1980 –
1982 –
1993 – 2023
1982 – 2023
1982 –
1982 – 2016
1988 – 2013
1989 – 1993
1989 – 1994
1989 – 2002
1989 – 1994
1990 – 1996
1990 –
1993 – 1994
1991 –
1993 –
1981 – 2023
1997 – 2005
1999 – 2012

2000 through the 2010s:

Dale Andrew Ramsden
Christopher Borchers
Henrik Gunnar Dohlman
Nikolay Dokholyan
Brian D. Strahl
Brian Kuhlman
Jean G. Cook
John Riordan
John Sheehan
Xian Chen
Leslie Parise
1998 –
2001 – 2006
2001 – 2016
2002 – 2018
2001 –
2002 –
2004 –
2005 – 2018
2004 – —
2006 –
2006 – 2020

2010 through 2020s:

Saskia Neher
Wolfgang Bergmeier
Qi Zhang
Gang (Greg) Wang
Jill Dowen
Pengda Liu
Brian Button
Rick Baker
Suzanne Barbour
Rebecca Berlow
Chrystal Starbird
2011 –
2011 –
2011 –
2011 – 2023
2015 –
2016 –
2018 –
2019 –
2019 – 2022
2022 –
2023 –

Your name could be here, visit UNC HR job board.