Department History
This section began with information courtesy of Dr. Thomas Traut in 2008. Updated March 2025.
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 – 1978: 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
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
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 L. 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 Justin M. Jenson Tigist Tamir |
2011 – 2011 – 2011 – 2011 – 2023 2015 – 2016 – 2018 – 2019 – 2019 – 2022 2022 – 2023 – 2024 – 2024 – |