Dr. Tara Davis is a highly experienced structural biologist and protein biochemist/biophysicist with significant expertise in building and managing gene-to-structure pipelines. With a background in Biochemistry from the University of Texas, Austin, and a PhD in molecular biophysics from UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Davis has made significant contributions in academia and industry.
Throughout her career, Dr. Davis has held key positions in esteemed academic institutions such as the University of Toronto, UC Santa Cruz, and the Drexel University College of Medicine, where she served as an assistant professor. She has also excelled in industry, having senior scientist roles at FORMA Therapeutics and Civetta Therapeutics. In these capacities, she led teams working on early discovery projects and managed molecular biology, protein production, and structural biology efforts, collaborating with internal and external scientists.
Notably, Dr. Davis has developed extensive relationships with external collaborators and contract research organizations (CROs), delivering outstanding results. Her exceptional work is evidenced by her impressive track record, including 15 publications, 40 depositions in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), NIH funding, and a licensing agreement for approximately 500 expression vectors.
Highlighted among her notable publications are studies that have received over 50 citations each, such as her research on the human cyclophilin family of peptidyl-prolyl isomerases and the structural and molecular characterization of a preferred protein interaction surface on G protein beta gamma subunits.
At NanoImaging Services, Dr. Davis leads the gene-to-structure workflow and spearheads the protein consultancy services. Her expertise and contributions play a pivotal role in driving our success and providing clients with top-tier solutions.
- Davis TL, Walker JR, Campagna-Slater V, Finerty PJ, Paramanathan R, Bernstein G, MacKenzie F, Tempel W, Ouyang H, Lee WH, Eisenmesser EZ, Dhe-Paganon S. Structural and biochemical characterization of the human cyclophilin family of peptidyl-prolyl isomerases. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000439. PMID: 20676357.
- Davis TL, Bonacci TM, Sprang SR, Smrcka AV. Structural and molecular characterization of a preferred protein interaction surface on G protein beta gamma subunits. Biochemistry. 2005 Aug 9;44(31):10593-604. doi: 10.1021/bi050655i. PMID: 16060668.
- Eydoux C, Spinelli S, Davis TL, Walker JR, Seitova A, Dhe-Paganon S, De Caro A, Cambillau C, Carrière F. Structure of human pancreatic lipase-related protein 2 with the lid in an open conformation. Biochemistry. 2008 Sep 9;47(36):9553-64. doi: 10.1021/bi8005576. Epub 2008 Aug 15. PMID: 18702514.
- Davis TL, Walker JR, Loppnau P, Butler-Cole C, Allali-Hassani A, Dhe-Paganon S. Autoregulation by the juxtamembrane region of the human ephrin receptor tyrosine kinase A3 (EphA3). Structure. 2008 Jun;16(6):873-84. doi: 10.1016/j.str.2008.03.008. PMID: 18547520.
- Gustafson CL, Parsley NC, Asimgil H, Lee HW, Ahlbach C, Michael AK, Xu H, Williams OL, Davis TL, Liu AC, Partch CL. A Slow Conformational Switch in the BMAL1 Transactivation Domain Modulates Circadian Rhythms. Mol Cell. 2017 May 18;66(4):447-457.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.04.011. Epub 2017 May 11. PMID: 28506462.
- Davis TL, Walker JR, Finerty PJ Jr, Mackenzie F, Newman EM, Dhe-Paganon S. The crystal structures of human calpains 1 and 9 imply diverse mechanisms of action and auto-inhibition. J Mol Biol. 2007 Feb 9;366(1):216-29. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2006.11.037. Epub 2006 Nov 14. PubMed PMID: 17157313.
