Bil Clemons, PhD
Professor of Biochemistry at Caltech
Professor Bil Clemons’ research career has included groundbreaking structural studies that have illuminated fundamental cellular processes like translation, membrane protein biogenesis, and glycobiology. He earned his PhD from the University of Utah, where he worked under the guidance of Professor and Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan. During his doctoral studies, he spent two years as a visiting scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. His most notable achievement during this period was being part of the team that solved the first atomic resolution structure of a small ribosomal subunit. This work significantly advanced our understanding of genetic code translation and provided molecular insights into the mechanisms of various antibiotics. Following his PhD, Prof. Clemons took a postdoctoral position at Harvard Medical School, working with Professors Tom Rapoport and Steve Harrison. There, he solved the structure of the ubiquitous protein translocation channel (translocon), a membrane protein complex crucial for cellular function. This achievement provided a clear model for understanding the unique function of this essential biological system. Since joining Caltech in 2006, the Clemons Lab has focused on structurally characterizing a number of biological problems including tail-anchored membrane protein targeting and proteins involved in peptidoglycan biosynthesis. At Caltech, Prof. Clemons is the Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Biochemistry. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Prof. Clemons is a strong advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM, and serves as the Scientific Program Officer for Diversity at the Chan Zuckerberg Institute.
Junko Yano, PhD
Division Director, Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging at LBNL
Junko Yano’s research career exemplifies how methodological innovation drives discovery, and how interdisciplinary, collaborative science can lead to new breakthroughs. Dr. Yano received her PhD from Osaka University and came to Lawrence Berkeley National Lab as a postdoctoral fellow, later advancing to Senior Scientist. She is currently the Division Director of the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division (MBIB). Her research focuses broadly on renewable energy with an emphasis on employing X-ray spectroscopies and crystallography to study the process of photosynthesis and the fundamental mechanisms plants use to convert light energy into chemical energy. With the advent of X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs), her team studies these catalytic processes of metalloenzymes under functional conditions at room temperature. Dr. Yano has also been instrumental in the effort to translate biochemical discoveries into new technologies. She is serving as a co-principal investigator in the Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) and the Center for Electrochemical Dynamics and Reactions on Surfaces (CEDARS).
WCSBW 2027 