Faculty Guide

Title

Professor Emeritus of Biology

Biology
Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center

Expertise

Structural molecular biology.

Profile

Our major objective is to determine the precise molecular architecture of certain a-proteins that have dynamic as well as structural roles in the cell. The chief methods are X-ray crystallography together with molecular biology and biochemistry.

Awards and Honors

Founding Fellow, Massachusetts Academy of Sciences (2008)

NIH grant: Muscle Structure and the Contractile Mechanism (2005)

Neilson Professorship in Biochemistry and Biology, Smith College (2002)

Founder's Award, Biophysical Society (2000 - 2001)

Charter Fellow, Biophysical Society (1999)

Rothschild/Mayent Fellowship, Institut Curie (1999)

Honoree, 3rd Alpbach Workshop on Fibrous Proteins (Austria 9/97) and special issue Journal of Structural Biology (1997 - 1998)

Member, National Academy of Sciences (1996)

MERIT Award Renewal, National Institutes of Health (1995)

NIH MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award to investigators of proven research competence and productivity (1990 - 2000)

Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1979 - 1980)

Guggenheim Fellowship (1978)

Fulbright Scholar, King's College, London (1954 - 1955)

National Science Foundation Fellow (1953)

Bryn Mawr European Fellow (1950)

Graduated summa cum laude, Bryn Mawr College (1950 - 1951)

Courses Taught

BIOL	126b	Protein Structure and Disease
FYS	62b	How Science Is Really Done

Scholarship

Brown, J.H,. Kumar, S., O'Neall-Hennessey, E., Reshetnikova, L., Robinson, H., Nguyen-McCarty, M., Szent-Gyorgyi, A.G., and Cohen, C.. "Visualizing key hinges and a potentialmajor source of compliance in the lever arm of myosin." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 108. (2011): 114-119.

Cohen, Carolyn. "Reflectons article part II: "Mrs. Professor", in preparation." (2011).

Kumar, S., O'Neall-Hennessey, E., Reshetnikova, L., Nguyen-McCarty, M.A., Szent-Gyorgyi, A.G. and Cohen, C.. "Crystal structures of a light chain domain of myosin that can be switched on by phosphorylation or by direct Ca2+ binding, in preparation." (2011).

O'Neall-Hennessey, E., Reshetnikova, L., Kumar, S., Robinson, H., Szent-Gyorgyi, A.G. and Cohen, C.. "Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of heavy meromyosin, in preparation." (2011).

Brown, J. H.. "How sequence directs bending in tropomyosin and other two-stranded alpha-helical coiled coils." Protein Science 19. (2010): 1366-1375 (supported by Cohen grant).

Himmel, D.M., Mui, S., O'Neall-Hennessey, E., Szent-Gyorgyi, A.G., and Cohen, C. "The on-off switch in regulated myosins: different triggers but related mechanisms." J. Mol. Biol. 394. (2009): 496-505.

Brown, J.H., Yang, Y., Reshetnikova, L., Gourinath, S., Suveges, D., Kardos, J., Hobor, F., Reutzel, R., Nyitray, L. and Cohen, C. "An unstable head-rod junction may promote folding into the compact off-state conformation of regulated myosins." J. Mol. Biol. 375. (2008): 1434-1443.

Cohen, Carolyn. "Reflections Article: Seeing and Knowing in Structural Biology." J. Biol. Chem. 282. (2007): 32529-32538.

Cohen, Carolyn. "Rigor-like structures from muscle myosins reveal key mechanical elements in the transduction pathways of this allosteric motor." Structure 15. (2007): 553-564.

Houdusse, A., Gaucher, J-F., Krementsova, E., Mui, S., Trybus, K.M., Cohen, C. "Crystal structure of apo-calmodulin bound to the first two IQ motifs of myosin V reveals essential recognition features." PNAS 103. 51 (2006): 19326-31.

Brown, J.H. and Cohen, C. "Regulation of muscle contraction by tropomyosin and troponin: how structure illuminates function." Adv. Prot. Chem. 71. (2005): 121-159.

Cohen,Carolyn, Brown, J. H. "The Structure and Function of Tropmyosin and Troponin." Elsevier - Advances in Protein Chemistry series (2005).

Cohen,Carolyn, Gourinath, S., Himmel, D. M., Brown, J.H., Reshetnikova, L., Szent-Györgyi, A.S. "Crystal structure of scallop myosin S1 in the pre-power stroke state to 2.6-Å resolution: flexibility and function in the head." Structure (2003): 1621-1627.

Cohen,Carolyn, Li, Y., Brown, J.H., Reshetnikova, L., Blazsek, A., Farkas, L., Nyitray, L. "Visualization of an unstable coiled coil from the scallop myosin rod." Nature (2003): 341-45.

Cohen,Carolyn, Himmel, D., Gourinath, S., Reshetnikova, L., Shen, Y., Szent-Gyorgyi, A. "Crystallographic findings on the actin-detached and near-rigor states of myosin: further insights into the mechanics of the motor." PNAS (2002): 12645-1265.

Brown, J., Kim, K-H., Jun, G., Greenfield, N., Dominguez, R., Wolkmann, N., Hitchcock-DeGregori, S. and Cohen, C. "Deciphering the design of the tropomyosiin molecule." PNAS 98. (2001): 8496-8501.

Madrazo, J., Brown, J. H., Litvinovich, S., Dominguez, R. Yakovel, S., Medved, L. and Cohen, C. "Crystal structure of the central region of bovine fibrinogen (E5 fragment) at 1.4A resolution." PNAS 98. (2001): 11967-11972.

Brown, J., Volkmann, N., Jun, G., Henschen-Edman, A. and Cohen, C. "The crystal structure of modified bovine fibrinogen." PNAS 97. (2000): 85-90.

Houdusse, A., Szent-Gyorgyi, A.G. and Cohen, C. "Three conformational states of scallop myosin S1." PNAS 97. (2000): 11238-11243.

Houdusse, A., Kalabookis, V. N., Himmel, D., Szent-Gyorgyi, A. G. and Cohen, C. "Atomic structure of scallop myosin subfragment S1 complexed with MgADP: A novel conformation of the myosin head." Cell 97. (1999): 459-470.

Cohen, C. "Why fibrous proteins are romantic." J. Struct. Biol. 122. (1998): 3-16.

Dominguez, R., Freyzon, Y., Trybus, K. M. and Cohen, C. "Crystal structure of a vertebrate smooth muscle myosin motor domain and its complex with the essential light chain: Visualization of the pre-ppwer stroke state." Cell 94. (1998): 559-571.

Houdusse, A., Love, M. L., Dominguez, R., Grabarek, Z. and Cohen, C. "Structures of four Ca2+-bound troponin C at 2.0A resolution: Further insights into the Ca2+-switch in the calmodulin superfamily." Structure 5. (1997): 1695-1711.

Brown, J., Cohen, C. and Parry, D. A. D. "Heptad breaks in a-helical coiled coils: Stutters and stammers." Proteins 26. (1996): 134-145.

Houdusse, A. and Cohen, C. "Structure of the regulatory domain of scallop myosin at 2 A resolution: Implications for regulation." Structure 4. (1996): 21-32.

Houdusse, A., Silver, M. and Cohen, C. "A model of Ca2+-free calmodulin binding to unconventional myosins reveals how calmodulin acts as a regulatory switch." Structure 4. (1996): 1475-1490.

Houdusse, A. and Cohen, C. "Target sequence recognition by the calmodulin superfamily: Implications from light chain binding to the regulatory domain of scallop myosin." PNAS 92. (1995): 10644-10647.

Cohen, C. and Parry, D. A. D. "a-Helical coiled coils: More facts and better predictions." Science 263. (1994): 488-489.

Xie, X., Harrison, D. H., Schlichting, I., Sweet, R., Kalabokis, V. N., Szent-Gyorgyi, A. G. and Cohen, C. "Structure of the regulatory domain of scallop myosin at 2.8 A resolution." Nature 368. (1994): 306-312.

Xie, X., Rao, S., Walian, P, Hatch, V., Phillips, Jr., G. N. and Cohen, C. "Coiled-coil packing in spermine-induced tropomyosin crystals: A comparative study of three forms." J. Mol. Biol. 236. (1994): 1212-1226.