Philip N. Borer  Professor Biochemistry; nucleic acid structure and function; biosensors; nuclear magnetic resonance pnborer@syr.edu phone: 315-443-5925 / fax: 315-443-4070 Office: CST 0-221D Education: • B.S., 1967, University of Toledo • Ph.D., 1972, University of California at Berkeley • Postdoctoral Fellow, 1973-1975, Johns Hopkins University Courses: • CHE 107*: General Chemistry Laboratory • BCM 430/630: Journal in Molecular Pharmacology and Structural Biology • BCM 484/684: Biomolecular Modeling   * denotes current Fall '08 course

Research Interests Our research focuses on structure, dynamics, and stability in nucleic acid systems. Drug discovery and diagnostics based on molecules that can be switched between fluorescent and non-fluorescent states in response to ligand interactions Targets of particular interest for drug discovery include proteins from HIV and proteins involved in cell signaling pathways. Biosensors are designed to detect the presence of environmental contaminants and terrorist threats. Three-dimensional structures of RNA and RNA-protein complexes from HIV and other retroviruses The structures are determined primarily by NMR methods. A hallmark of student participation in these projects is the collaborative interaction with other laboratories on the Hill. Professor Bruce Hudson, an expert on fluorescence and luminescence, is a principal collaborator. Students are also exposed to entrepreneurial activity through Syracuse University's business incubator center. We manage the department's NMR facility and share equipment with the neighboring campuses of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) and the SUNY Upstate Medical University. Selected Publications Boudreau, E.A.; Pelczer, I.; Borer, P.N.; Heffron, G.J.; LaPlante, S.R. Changes in Drug 13C NMR Chemical Shifts as a Tool for Monitoring Interactions with DNA. Biophysical Chem. 2004, 109, 333-344. Cavaluzzi, M.J.; Borer, P.N. Revised UV Extinction Coefficients for Nucleoside 5′-Monophosphates and unpaired DNA and RNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 2004, 32, e13/1-e13/9. Yuan, Y.-Q.; Kerwood, D. J.; Paoletti, A. C.; Shubsda, M.F.; Borer, P.N. The Stem of SL1 RNA in HIV-1: Structure and Nucleocapsid Protein Binding for a 1x3 Internal Loop. Biochemistry 2003, 42, 5259-5269. Paoletti, A.C.; Shubsda, M.F.; Hudson, B.S.; Borer, P.N. Affinities of the Nucleocapsid Protein for Variants of SL3 RNA in HIV-1. Biochemistry 2002, 41, 15423-15428. Shubsda, M.F.; Paoletti, A.C.; Hudson, B.S.; Borer, P.N. Affinities of Packaging Domain Loops in HIV-1 RNA for the Nucleocapsid Protein. Biochemistry 2002, 41, 5276-5282. » View all Publications