JSNN > People > Eric Josephs
Return to Directory

Eric Josephs

Eric A. Josephs, Ph.D.

About Professor Josephs

Curriculum Vitae

PDF Version, Dec 2023

Biography

Dr. Josephs comes to JSNN in August 2018 after concluding his postdoctoral research at Duke University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, where he was a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA (NIH/F32) Postdoctoral Scholar and a Duke Scholar in Molecular Medicine (Oncology and Regenerative Medicine). Dr. Josephs received his undergraduate degree from Duke University, and completed his doctorate at the University of California, Merced with his dissertation entitled ‘Single-molecule characterization and engineering of the surfaces of nucleic acid sensors’.

Research

Nanoscience and molecular biophysics for better biotechnologies

  • Re-engineering biomolecular systems with novel or enhanced functionalities to improve our ability to detect and treat genetic diseases
  • New molecular tools to discover mechanisms that modulate genetic stability in industrially and clinically important species
  • Open positions for graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduate researchers! Please contact Dr. Josephs directly for inquiries.

Honors & Awards

  • 2019 UNCG Faculty Award in Teaching Excellence
  • 2019-2020 UNCG New Faculty Research Award
  • Duke Scholars in Molecular Medicine (Oncology and Regenerative Medicine). Duke University School of Medicine. 2015-2016.
  • Ruth L. Kirschstein (NIH/F32) National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Postdoctoral Fellows. National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. 2014-2016.
  • Travel award. Conference on Repair of Endogenous DNA Damage, at UNM Cancer Center. 2014.
  • UC Merced Graduate & Research Council Fellowship. Summer 2012.
  • Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE)-funded Teaching Fellowship. Summer 2011. (25% support)
  • UC Merced Faculty Mentor Program Fellowship. Academic year 2010-11.
  • In progress: 1R35GM133483-01. “Complex Mechanisms of Mutation and Mutation Avoidance in Living Cells.” Josephs (PI). NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences. 9/17/2019- 07/31/2024. $1,680,120.
  • In progress: 1R21AI146876-01. “Mechanism and Architecture of EndoMS/NucS Mutation Avoidance in Mycobacteria.” Josephs (PI). NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. 6/11/2019-6/30/2021. $291,000.

Publications

  • Kocak, D.D., Josephs, E. A., Bhandarkar, V., Adkar, S. S., Kwon, J.B., Gersbach, C. A. “Increasing the Specificity of CRISPR Systems with Engineered RNA Secondary Structures.” Nature Biotechnol., 2019, 37, 657–666
  • Josephs, E. A.,* Marszalek, P. E.* “Endonuclease-independent DNA Mismatch Repair Processes on the Lagging Strand.” DNA Repair, 2018, 68, 41-49. *Corresponding authors.
  • Hao, X., Josephs, E. A., Gu, Q., Ye, T. “Molecular Conformations of Targets Captured by DNA Nanoarrays.” Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 13419-13424.
  • Josephs, E. A.,* Marszalek, P. E.* “A ‘Semi-Protected Oligonucleotide Recombination’ Assay for DNA Mismatch Repair in vivo Suggests Different Modes of Repair for Lagging Strand Mismatches.” Nucleic Acids Res., 2017, gkw1339. *Corresponding authors.
  •  Scholl, Z. N.,‡* Josephs, E. A.,‡*, Marszalek, P. E.* “Modular, Nondegenerate Polyprotein Scaffolds for Atomic Force Spectroscopy.” Biomacromol., 2016. 17 (7), 2502-2505. ‡Authors contributed equally to this work; *Corresponding authors.
  • Josephs, E. A.,* Kocak, D. D., Fitzgibbon, C. J., McMenemy, J., Gersbach, C. A., Marszalek, P. E.* “Structure and Specificity of the RNA-guided Endonuclease Cas9 during DNA Interrogation, Target Binding, and Cleavage.” Nucleic Acids Res., 2015, 43 (18), 8924-8941.*Corresponding authors.
  • Josephs, E. A.,* Zheng, T., Marszalek, P. E.* “Atomic Force Microscopy Captures the Initiation of Methyl-Directed DNA Mismatch Repair.” DNA Repair, 2015, 35, 71-84. *Corresponding authors.
  • Josephs, E. A. and T. Ye. “Nanoscale Spatial Distribution of Tethered DNA on Model Nucleic Acid Sensor Surfaces.” ACS Nano, 2013, 7 (4), 3653–3660.
  •  Josephs, E.A., Shao, J., Ye, T. “Nanografting Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate under Potential Control: new insights into tip-directed molecular assembly.” Nanoscale, 2013, 5, 4139-4143.
  • Abel, Jr., G. A., Josephs, E. A., Luong, N., Ye, T. “A Switchable Surface Enables Detection of Single DNA Hybridization Events with Atomic Force Microscopy.” J. Am Chem. Soc., 2013, 135 (17), 6399–6402.
  • Shao, J.,‡ Josephs, E.A.,‡ Lee, C., Lopez, A., Ye, T. “Electrochemical Etching of Gold within Nanoshaved Self-Assembled Monolayers.” ACS Nano, 2013, 7 (6), 5421–5429. ‡Authors contributed equally to this work.
  • Josephs, E. A. and T. Ye. “Electric-field Dependent Conformations of DNA Molecules on a Model Biosensor Surface.” Nano Lett., 2012, 12 (10), 5255–5261.

Textbook Chapters

Josephs, E. A, Scholl, Z. N., Marszalek, P. E. “3. AFM Force Spectroscopy.” Introduction to Single Molecule Biophysics. Ed. Yuri L. Lyubchenko. CRC Press: 2017.