Pharmacology and Toxicology - Faculty
B. Montgomery Pettitt, Ph.D.
Professor
Affiliations
Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, Rice University
Chair, Keck Center for Interdisciplinary Bioscience
Executive Committee Member of the Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program, Baylor College of Medicine
The Gulf Coast Consortium for Bioinformatics
John S. Dunn Gulf Coast Consortium for Chemical Genomics
Contact Information
Phone: 409-772-0723
Fax: 409-772-0725
Email: mpettitt@utmb.edu
Research Information Page
Education
B. S. – 1975 University of Houston, Chemistry
B. S. – 1975 University of Houston, Mathematics
Ph. D. – 1980 University of Houston, Physical Chemistry
Postdoctoral Fellow – Oct. 1980-Jan 1983, University of Texas, Austin, Physical Chemistry
N.I.H. Postdoctoral Fellow – Jan 1983- Jun 1985, Harvard University, Biophysical Chemistry
Background
Our research seeks to understand the behavior of proteins and nucleic acids in complex biological fluids. The solution environment as well as the sequence are known to determine the conformation, kinetic and thermodynamic behavior of polymers. It is widely appreciated for biopolymers that biological activity is usually found within a narrow range of solvent and salt concentration. Formulating hypotheses to explain this sensitivity is a unifying goal for the studies in the laboratory. Projects in this laboratory bring theoretical and calculational approaches to bear to on an array of problems related to recognition. At UTMB Galveston, Dr. Pettitt is a Professor in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, holds the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and serves as the Director of the Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics.