Gundeep Kaur

Highly skilled biophysicist and biochemist with extensive expertise in structural biology techniques, including X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Research focuses on elucidating protein-protein complexes involved in transcription and epigenetics, with significant contributions to bacterial transcription regulation and epigenetic multi-subunit complexes in cancer. Strong background in molecular biology, protein biochemistry, and drug discovery. Demonstrated leadership skills in designing and executing gene-to-structure experimental strategies. Proficient in advanced cryo-EM techniques, molecular modeling, and protein engineering. Skilled in using artificial intelligence (AI) tools for tasks such as protein engineering, construct design, and cryo-EM data processing. Strong publication record, exceptional communication skills, and collaborative mindset fostered through postdoctoral experience. Self-directed and motivated professional with a highly ethical, meticulous, and thorough approach. Well-equipped to contribute to cutting-edge research projects.

• 2020-2023, Hot start Virtual Summer Teaching Program for undergraduate and high school students, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
• 2018-2019, Supervised and mentored summer undergraduates in the lab at Baylor College of Medicine
• 2012-2018, Trained new PhD students in the lab to use a range of instruments and helped them with complicated experiments and data analysis. This has been acknowledged in their PhD theses and several research papers.
• 2009-2011, Taught Animal Biochemistry course to master's students at ICAR-NDRI, India

• Frontiers in Genetics, Review Editor on Editorial Board
• Frontiers in Epigenetics and Metabolism, Review Editor on Editorial Board
• International Journal of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Editorial Board
• Proteins: structure Function and Bioinformatics, Reviewer
• Bio protocol, Reviewer
• Drug Design, Development and Therapy, Reviewer
• Molecular Cell Factories, Reviewer
• Archives of Microbiology, Reviewer
• Infection and Drug resistance, Reviewer
• Proteins, Reviewer
• Protein expression and purification, Reviewer
• Medicine, Reviewer
• Functional Foods in Health Diseases, Reviewer
• Journal of Biomolecular structure and Dynamics, Reviewer

• SECM4 workshop at the southeastern center for microscopy of macromolecular machines, Tallahassee, Florida, 2024
• Center for Cancer Epigenetics Retreat (Poster presentation), Houston, Texas, 2024
• Alphafold and Machine Learning workshop, Houston, Texas, 2023
• 20th Annual UltraScan Analytical Ultracentrifugation Workshop, Lethbridge, Alberta, 2023
• ASBMB Motifs, Modules Networks: Assembly and Organization of Regulatory Signaling Systems (Oral and Poster presentation), Potomac, Maryland, 2023
• AlphaFold and Machine Learning in Structural Biology Workshop, Houston, Texas, 2022
• 32nd Annual Keck Research Conference "Structural Biology: Past, Present &.." (Served as Co-chair), Houston, Texas, 2022
• 12th Annual BioSAXS Workshop (Invited talk), Berkeley, California, 2021
• 72nd Annual American Crystallographic Association Meeting (Poster presentation, virtual), Portland, Oregon, 2021
• S2C2 cryo-EM CCP-EM Modelling Workshop, Stanford, California, 2020
• NCCAT introduction to Model building and refinement workshop, New York, New York, 2020
• American Crystallographic Association 2020 virtual BioSAS workshop, 2020
• S2C2Cryo-EM Image Processing Workshop: cryoSPARC, Stanford, California, 2020
• Schrödinger's workshop on introduction to Molecular Modeling in Drug Discovery, 2020
• S2C2 Cryo-EM Image Processing Workshop: SCIPION (Poster presentation), Stanford, California, 2019
• Emerging trends in Cellular and Molecular Biophysics Conference (Poster presentation), Houston, Texas, 2019

• 2023-Present, Biophysical Society of Canada
• 2020-Present, American Crystallography Association
• 2019-Present, Texas Postdoc Association
• 2019-Present, Electron Microscopy Society of India
• 2019-Present, American Society of Microbiology

• RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of predominant human norovirus forms liquid-liquid phase condensates as platforms for viral replication. Soni Kaundal, Anish Ramakrishnan, B.Vijayalakshmi Ayyar, Sreejesh Shanker, Gundeep Kaur, Sue E Crawford, Jeroen Pollet, Fabio Stossi, Mary K Estes, B.V. Venkataram Prasad. Accepted in Science Advances.
• Biochemical and structural characterization of the first-discovered metazoan DNA cytosine-N4 methyltransferase from the Bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga.Jujun Zhou, John R. Horton, Gundeep Kaur, Qin Chen, Fabian Mendoza, Robert M. Blumenthal, Xing Zhang, and Xiaodong Cheng. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2023, 299, 8, 105017
• Allosteric autoregulation of DNA binding via a DNA mimicking protein domain: a biophysical study of ZNF410-DNA interaction by small angle X-ray scattering. Gundeep Kaur, Ren Ren, Michal Hammel, John R. Horton, Xianjiang Lan, Gerd A. Blobel, Robert M. Blumenthal, Xing Zhang, and Xiaodong Cheng. Nucleic Acids Research, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkac1274
• An auto-inhibited state of protein kinase G and implications for selective activation. Rajesh Sharma, Jeong Joo Kim, Liying Qin, Philipp Henning, Madoka Akimoto, Bryan VanSchouwen, Gundeep Kaur, Banumathi Sankaran, Kevin MacKenzie, Giuseppe Melacini, Darren E. Casteel, Friedrich W. Herberg, Choel Kim. eLife, 2021, 11, e79530, https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.79530
• MBD5 and MBD6 couple DNA methylation to gene silencing through the J-domain protein SILENZIO., Lucia Ichino, Brandon A Boone, Luke Strauskulage, C Jake Harris, Gundeep Kaur, Matthew A Gladstone, Maverick Tan, Suhua Feng, Yasaman Jami-Alahmadi, Sascha H Duttke, James A Wohlschlegel, Xiaodong Cheng, Sy Redding, Steven E Jacobson. Science, 06/03/21, 10.1126/science.abg6130
• Discovery and characterization of bromodomain 2-specific inhibitors of BRDT., Zhifeng Yu, Angela F. Ku, Justin L Anglin, Rajesh Sharma, Melek Nihan Ucisik, John C. Faver, Feng Li, Pranavanand Nyshadham, Nicholas Simmons, Kiran L. Sharma, Sureshbabu Nagarajan, Kevin Riehle, Gundeep Kaur, Banumathi Sankaran, Marta Storl-Desmond, Stephen S. Palmer, Damian W. Young, Choel Kim, Martin M. Matzuk., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2021, 118, 9, e2021102118, 10.1073/pnas.2021102118
• Enzymatic characterization of three human RNA adenosine methyltransferases reveals diverse substrate affinities and reaction optima., Dan Yu, Gundeep Kaur, Robert M Blumenthal, Xing Zhang, and Xiaodong Cheng. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 01/08/21, 100270, 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100270
• The inactive Dnmt3b3 isoform preferentially enhances Dnmt3b-mediated DNA methylation., Yang Zeng, Gundeep Kaur, Swanand Hardikar, Zhengzhou Ying, Lance Babcock, Esha Gupta, Xing Zhang, Taiping Chen, Xiaodong Cheng., Genes and Development, 2020, 34, 1546-1558
• KRAB domain of ZFP568 disrupts TRIM28 mediated abnormal interactions in cancer cells. Janani Kumar, Gundeep Kaur, Ren Ren, Yue Lu, Kevin Lin, Jia Li, Yun Huang, Anamika Patel, Michelle C Barton, Todd Macfarlan, Xing Zhang, Xiaodong Cheng. Nucleic Acid Research Cancer, 2020, 2, 2
• Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of YeeF/YezG, A Polymorphic Toxin-Immunity Protein Pair from Bacillus subtilis., Soni Kaundal, AmarDeep, Gundeep Kaur and Krishan Gopal Thakur. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2020, 11, 13
• Structure-Guided Designing and Evaluation of Peptides Targeting Bacterial Transcription. Gundeep Kaur, Srajan Kapoor, Soni Kaundal, Dipak Dutta and Krishan Gopal Thakur. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2020, 8, 797
• Bacillus subtilis HelD, an RNA polymerase interacting helicase, forms amyloid-like fibrils., Gundeep Kaur, Srajan Kapoor and Krishan Gopal. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2018, 9, 1934
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis CarD, an essential transcription regulator forms amyloid-like fibrils., Gundeep Kaur, Soni Kaundal, Srajan Kapoor, Jonathan M. Grimes, Juha T. Huiskonen and Krishan Gopal. Nature Scientific Reports, 2018, 8, 10124
• Crystal structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis CarD, an essential RNA polymerase binding protein, reveals a quasi domain-swapped dimeric structural architecture. Gundeep Kaur, Dipak Dutta, and Krishan Gopal Thakur. Proteins Structure, Function and Bioinformatics, 2014, 82, 879
• Early Detection of Buffalo Sperm Apoptosis at various stages of Cryopreservation. Gundeep Kaur and S.K. Atreja. International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology, 2018, 5, 5056

• Structural and functional characterization of readers, writers and erasers involved in epigenetic gene silencing, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (06/01/19-Present)
• Discovery and characterization of bromodomain 2-specific inhibitors of Bromodomain specific testis protein (BRDT), a validated contraceptive target, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas (07/01/18-06/30/19)
• Understanding the role of RNA Polymerase (RNAP) and RNAP binding proteins in regulating transcription in pathogenic bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, India and University of Oxford, UK (08/01/12-04/30/18)

• 2023, Served as Poster Judge at MD Anderson Summer Experience Poster Exposition
• 2022, Co-chair for 2022 Keck Conference on Structural Biology: Past, Present &..
• 2021, Started Structural Biology Interest Group at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
• 2021, Contact person for Joint Journal club in Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
• 2020, RCSB Poster Prize judge at the American Crystallographic Association annual meeting
• 2018, Received advanced training to operate cryo-Electron Microscopes independently at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA