John Voss, Ph.D.

Professor
4110 Tupper Hall, Davis Campus
(530) 754-7583
e-mail

Recent/Current
Research Funding

National Institutes of Health

Graduate Group Affiliations

Biochemistry, Molecular,
Cellular and
Developmental Biology

Laboratory Personnel

Madhu S. Budamagunta, Ph.D.
Project Scientist

Michael Saxton,
Ph.D.
Research Associate

Research Interests

My research interests are in observing molecular switching in proteins, as well as protein folding and assembly. This work is carried out in large part through the use electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR — a.k.a. ESR) spectroscopy of site-directed spin labels.  We use this approach to address problems in several biological systems, including those related to cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

Representative Publications

Tetali, S.D., Budamagunta, M.S., Simion, C., den Hartigh, L.J. Kálai, T., Hideg, K., Hatters, D.M., Weisgraber, K.H., Voss, J.C., Rutledge, J.C. VLDL lipolysis products increase VLDL fluidity and convert apolipoprotein E4 into a more expanded conformation. J Lipid Res. 2010, in press.

Aziz A, Hess JF, Budamagunta MS, Fitzgerald PG, Voss JC. Head and rod 1 interactions in vimentin: Identification of contact sites, structure and changes with phosphorylation using site directed spin labeling and electron paramagnetic resonance. J Biol Chem. 2009; 284: 7330-7338.

Hatters, DM, Voss, JC, Budamagunta, MS, Newhouse, YN, 1, and Weisgraber, KH. Insight on the molecular envelope of lipid-bound apoE from electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. J Mol Biol 2009; 386: 261-271.

Hong H-S, Maezawa I, Budamagunta M, Rana S, Shi A; Vassar R, Liu R, Lam KS, Cheng RH, Hua DH, Voss JC, Jin LW. Candidate anti-Abeta fluorene compounds selected from analogs of amyloid imaging agents. Neurobiol Aging, 2008.

Shafer, AM, Nakaie CR, Deupi, X, Bennett, VJ, and Voss, JC. Characterization of a conformationally sensitive TOAC spin-labeled substance P. Peptides, 2008; 49: 1919-1929.

Vinchurkar MS, Bricarello DA, Lagerstedt JO, Buban JP, Stahlberg H, Oda MN, Voss JC, Parikh AN. Bridging across length scales: multi-scale ordering of supported lipid bilayers via lipoprotein self-assembly and surface patterning. J Am Chem Soc. 2008 Aug 20;130(33):11164-9.

Lagerstedt JO, Cavigiolio G, Roberts L, Hong H, Jin L, FitzGerald P, Oda M, Voss JC. Mapping the Structural Transition In an Amyloidogenic Apolipoprotein A-I. Biochemistry 2007; 46: 9693-9699.

Lagerstedt JO, Budamagunta M, Oda M, Voss JC. EPR spectroscopy of site-directed spin labels reveals the structural heterogeneity in the N-terminal domain of apo-AI in solution. J. Biol. Chem. 2007; 282: 9143-9149.

Hatters M, Budamagunta MS, Voss JC, Weisgraber KH. Modulation of apolipoprotein E structure by domain interaction: Differences in lipid-bound and lipid-free forms. J. Biol. Chem. 2005; 280: 34288-34295.

Shafer M, Kálai T, Hideg K, Bin Liu SQ, Voss JC. Site Specific Insertion of Spin-labeled L-Amino Acids in Xenopus Oocytes. Biochemistry 2004; 43: 8470-8482.

Shafer M, Bennett VJ, Kim P, Voss JC. Probing the binding pocket and endocytosis of a G protein-coupled receptor in live cells reported by a spin-labeled substance P agonist. J. Biol. Chem. 2003; 278: 34203-34210.

Oda MN, Forte TM, Ryan RO, Voss JC. The C-terminal domain of apolipoprotein A-I contains a lipid-sensitive conformational trigger. Nature Structural Biology 2003; 10: 455-460.

Recent/Current Teaching

BCM 410A, Medical Biochemistry

MCB/BPH 241, Membrane Biology

Honors and Awards

• 2000, Scientist Development Award, American Heart Association
• 2000, Basil O’Connor New Investigator Award, March of Dimes Foundation
• 1998, Charles E. Culpeper Biomedical Initiative Award