Dr. James Fraser is the Chair and Ernest L. Prien Professor at UCSF's Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences. His research focuses on understanding protein structure and dynamics, especially how proteins transition between conformational states, using techniques like X-ray crystallography and NMR. Fraser's lab pioneers computational and biophysical approaches to study protein function and how mutations and ligand binding influence biological processes. He has a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley and is an expert in protein evolution and structure.