Rate My Professor Raquel Lieberman

Raquel Lieberman is the Sepcic-Pfiel Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry in the School of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She received her B.Sc. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998, M.S. in 1999 and Ph.D. in 2005 from Northwestern University, where her thesis work resulted in the first crystal structure of the copper-dependent particulate methane monooxygenase, a membrane-bound metalloenzyme catalyzing methane oxidation. Following her doctorate, she conducted postdoctoral research from 2005 to 2007 at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Brandeis University, shifting focus to intramembrane aspartyl proteases involved in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Lieberman joined the Georgia Tech faculty in 2008, advancing to full professor, and holds the Sepcic-Pfiel Endowed Chair.

Her research program employs biophysical, structural, and chemical biology approaches to investigate proteins implicated in conformational disorders, emphasizing protein misfolding and mistrafficking. Key projects include the glaucoma-associated myocilin protein, for which her lab determined the first de novo crystal structure of its olfactomedin domain, revealing parallels to amyloid diseases and enabling chemical biology strategies to correct misfolding; and membrane-spanning proteolytic enzymes, including development of the first continuous assay for intramembrane aspartyl protease activity using proteomics mass spectrometry and small-angle neutron scattering in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to elucidate substrate specificity, mechanism, and inhibition. Additional studies address acid-β-glucosidase in Gaucher disease and structure-function of membrane enzymes. Methods encompass protein crystallography, biochemical characterization, in silico modeling, and small molecule inhibitor discovery for disease-modifying therapies. Lieberman’s contributions are recognized through awards such as the Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences (2010), NSF CAREER Award (2008), Glaucoma Research Foundation Shaffer Award (2008), Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert/AFAR New Investigator Award in Alzheimer Disease (2009), and American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry (2006). Influential publications include “Crystal structure of a membrane-bound metalloenzyme that catalyses the biological oxidation of methane” (Nature, 2005), “Structure of acid β-glucosidase with pharmacological chaperone provides insight into Gaucher disease” (Nature Chemical Biology, 2007), and “Automated structure-and sequence-based design of proteins for high bacterial expression and stability” (Molecular Cell, 2016). She serves on the Executive Council of the Protein Society, as an academic editor for PLoS Biology, and as co-PI for the Department of Education GAANN program in Biochemistry & Biophysics.