Jean Baum is an American chemist. She is the Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University, where she is also Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the School of Arts and Sciences, and also Vice Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Her research investigates protein–protein interaction and protein aggregation using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and other biochemical and biophysical techniques. She serves as Treasurer for the Protein Society.

Education

Baum obtained her bachelor degree

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

at Barnard College in 1980. She completed her PhD in physical chemistry with Alexander Pines at University of California, Berkeley from 1981-1986, working on solid-state NMR.

Research and career

After completing her PhD, Baum changed her research focus towards biological applications of NMR, especially in solution-state. She worked with

Chris Dobson Sir Christopher Martin Dobson (8 October 1949 – 8 September 2019) was a British chemist, who was the John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Chemical and Structural Biology in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, and Maste ...

at University of Oxford from 1986-1988, while holding a Fulford junior research fellowship at Somerville College. During this time, she used NMR to investigate partly folded and misfolded proteins. She joined Rutgers University in 1988 as a Henry Rutgers Research Fellow, and was promoted to Distinguished Professor in 2010. Baum uses both solution- and solid-state NMR in her research. Her research investigates the structure and dynamics of proteins, including alpha-synuclein, which can aggregate to form amyloid fibrils, and

collagen Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix found in the body's various connective tissues. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole ...

. The molecular interactions involved in the assembly of the functional and pathological forms of these proteins can be elucidated by NMR investigations. Since May 2020, her research has included studying the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using a combined experimental and computational approach.

Honors and awards

* Fulford Junior Research Fellow, University of Oxford, England, 1986-1988 * Henry Rutgers Research Fellow, 1988-1990 * Merck Faculty Development Award; 1988-1990 * Searle Scholar, 1990-1993 * Johnson and Johnson Discovery Research Fund, 1993 * Camille & Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, 1993-1998 * Margaret O. Dayhoff Biophysical Society Award, 1994 * Rutgers University Board of Trustees Scholarly Excellence Fellowship, 1994 * Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1994-1996 * Visiting Fellow, Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, England, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baum, Jean Living people American chemists Rutgers University faculty Barnard College alumni 21st-century American biochemists 21st-century American scientists Year of birth missing (living people)