John Tesmer
Dr. Tesmer began his biochemical career as an undergraduate at Rice University in Houston, Texas, working in a lab determining structures of periplasmic sugar binding proteins via macromolecular X-ray crystallography. This experimental approach uses a unique and enticing combination of biochemistry, biophysics and computer simulation that allows one to visualize atomic resolution structures of the molecular machines responsible for most cellular processes. For his doctoral work, Dr. Tesmer went on to study crystallographic structure determination in the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, under the supervision of Dr. Janet Smith. Always intrigued by the processes by which cells sense extracellular signals--events that underlie vision, smell and cardiac function--Dr. Tesmer returned to Texas to perform his post-doctoral work at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, where he worked with Dr. Stephen Sprang and Dr. Alfred Gilman to determine atomic structures of heterotrimeric G proteins in complex with their downstream effectors and regulators. Among the structures he determined was the Gαs-adenylyl cyclase complex, an interaction responsible for the production of cyclic-AMP (cAMP) in response to catecholamine hormone (e.g. epinephrine) stimulation. Before joining the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan, he was an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Texas, Austin where he was a Fellow of the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology. There he began his independent research career studying the structure and function of G protein-coupled receptor kinases and other G protein-regulated effectors. This continues to be the focus of his research today. Dr. Tesmer received the Lyndon B. Johnson Research Award from the American Heart Association in 2000, and was named a Cottrell Research Scholar in 2002. He received a University of Texas College of Natural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award in 2004. Since arriving at the University of Michigan, Dr. Tesmer has been honored with the 2008 Basic Science Research Award, the 2009 John J. Abel Award and the 2010 ASBMB Young Investigator Award.
Education
- BA, Biochemistry & English, Rice University, 1990
- PhD, Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 1995
Affiliations
Previous Positions
- 2005-2011 Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- 2005-2011 Associate Research Professor, Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- 1999-2005 Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UT Austin, TX
- 1996-1999 Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. S. Sprang (advisor), HHMI, UTSW Medical Center at Dallas, TX
- 1990-1995 Graduate Research Asst., Dr. J. Smith (advisor), Purdue University, IN
- 1988-1990 Undergraduate Research Asst., Dr. F. Quiocho (advisor), Baylor College of Medicine, TX
- 1986-1988 Summer Undergraduate Research Asst., Los Alamos National Laboratories, NM
Honors
- 2012- Cyrus Levinthal Collegiate Professor in the Life Sciences
- 2010 ASBMB Young Investigator Award (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
- 2009 John J. Abel Award (American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics)
- 2008 Basic Science Research Award (University of Michigan Medical School)
- 2004 U. of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award
- 2002 Cottrell Scholar Award (Research Corporation)
- 2000 American Heart Association Texas Affiliate Lyndon Baines Johnson Research Award
- 1995 First Place (Life Sciences): Sigma Xi Poster Competition
- 1995 H. E. Umbarger Outstanding Graduate Student Award
- 1994 - 1995 Purdue Research Foundation Grant
- 1990 - 1993 N.S.F. Predoctoral Fellowship
Professional Memberships
- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)
- American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)
- American Crystallographic Association (ACA)
