Brianna Bibel

Bri Bibel is trained as a protein and RNA biochemist and structural biologist, with additional training in analytical chemistry techniques (e.g. mass spectrometry). She leads undergraduate-driven research on bacterial malate dehydrogenase (MDH) enzymes inside and outside the classroom using a combination of in vitro enzymatic and structural investigations (e.g. enzyme assays, DSF, SAXS); in silico analysis (e.g. molecular modeling and molecular dynamics); and in vivo analytical methods (e.g. mass spectrometry). Among other things, this work seeks to understand metabolic adaptations enabling resistance to heavy metals and the ability to remove said metals from the environment. Ultimately, she hopes the findings can advance the application of bacteria in bioremediation (using organisms such as these to clean up environmental contamination) and/or sustainable biotechnology.

Bri received a B.S. in Biology from Saint Mary’s College of California (SMC), followed by a PhD from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL)’s Graduate School of Biological Sciences in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. There, in the lab of Dr. Leemor Joshua-Tor, she used a combination of biochemical, biophysical, and structural methods to gain a better understanding of how gene expression is regulated through the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway, focusing on the Ago2 protein. After graduating in October, 2021, she then carried out postdoctoral research exploring the effects of antibacterial antibiotics on mitochondrial translation in Dr. Danica Fujimori’s lab at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), using biochemical (e.g. mitochondrial ribosome profiling/sequencing) and structural techniques. Before joining the faculty at LMU in 2025, she taught Biochemistry and Chemistry and mentored undergraduate researchers as a Visiting Professor at SMC.

She finds biochemistry fascinating and has a great passion for sharing its wonders freely with whoever will listen. She maintains a biochemistry blog, “The Bumbling Biochemist,” with associated content on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Through these channels, she explains both core biochemical concepts and laboratory techniques in detail but using accessible language and infographics. She is deeply involved in the undergraduate education community and is a Cohort Fellow of the Malate Dehydrogenase CUREs Community, leading students in Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences expressing, purifying, and experimenting with MDH.