- Biology Department
- Pre-Health Advisory Committee
- GIS Center
- Medical Laboratory Science
- Museum of the Earth Sciences
- Mathematics and Statistics
- REALISE
- Chemistry Department
- Radford University Planetarium
- Department of Physics
- Anthropological Sciences
- Geology
- Selu Observatory
- Center for Information Security
- Forensic Science Institute
- Biomedical Science
- Geospatial Science
- School of Computing and Information Sciences
- MS in Data And Information Management
Dr. Benjamin D. Caldwell
Dean, College of Graduate Studies and Research
Professor; Biochemistry
B.S., Randolph-Macon College; Ph.D., University of Virginia
(540) 831-5723
bcaldwell13@radford.edu
Research Interests:
My research interests are focused on studying the interaction of small molecules with proteins, as well as protein-protein interactions. Our goal is to examine the structural features that influence molecular binding processes on the surfaces of proteins. We use spectrophotometric methods (fluorescence, UV/Vis) and kinetics to observe and monitor these interactions. For example, small molecules such as GTP can activate or deactivate certain cellular pathways by interacting with GTP binding proteins (G-proteins) which then activate or inactivate other proteins creating a cascade-like effect that is mediated primarily through protein-protein interactions. Many intracellular cellular activities are controlled by these types of cascades, including cellular division which can be implicated in particular types of cancer, or other disease states such as whooping cough or pertussis.