About

Barry Honig, PhD, is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, systems biology, and medical sciences (in medicine) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He is also the director of the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. His research focuses on understanding the biophysics of macromolecules, utilizing a combination of sequence and structural information, biophysical analysis, and machine learning to uncover fundamental physical principles underlying various biological phenomena. His lab's research programs include the prediction of protein-protein interactions through the integration of structural and systems biology, exploring how highly specific protein-protein interactions mediate neural circuit wiring, and optimizing antibodies using free energy perturbation methods. His work encompasses theoretical research, biophysical measurements, software development, and applications addressing biologically significant problems.

Research topics

• Biology
• Computational biology
• Cell biology
• Evolutionary biology
• Genetics
• Biochemistry
• Ecology
• Medicine
• Chemistry
• Biophysics

Selected publications

• Adhesion Protein Structure, Molecular Affinities, and Principles of Cell-Cell Recognition

  Cell · 2020 · 185 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Biology
  • Cell biology
  • Computational biology
  DOI

• Family-wide Structural and Biophysical Analysis of Binding Interactions among Non-clustered δ-Protocadherins

  Cell Reports · 2020 · 83 citations

  • Chemistry
  • Computational biology
  • Biology

  Non-clustered δ1- and δ2-protocadherins, close relatives of clustered protocadherins, function in cell adhesion and motility and play essential roles in neural patterning. To understand the molecular interactions underlying these functions, we used solution biophysics to characterize binding of δ1- and δ2-protocadherins, determined crystal structures of ectodomain complexes from each family, and assessed ectodomain assembly in reconstituted intermembrane junctions by cryoelectron tomography (cryo-ET). Homophilic trans (cell-cell) interactions were preferred for all δ-protocadherins, with additional weaker heterophilic interactions observed exclusively within each subfamily. As expected, δ1- and δ2-protocadherin trans dimers formed through antiparallel EC1-EC4 interfaces, like clustered protocadherins. However, no ectodomain-mediated cis (same-cell) interactions were detectable in solution; consistent with this, cryo-ET of reconstituted junctions revealed dense assemblies lacking the characteristic order observed for clustered protocadherins. Our results define non-clustered protocadherin binding properties and their structural basis, providing a foundation for interpreting their functional roles in neural patterning.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Sweep of Earth’s Virome Reveals Host-Guided Viral Protein Structural Mimicry and Points to Determinants of Human Disease

  Cell Systems · 2020 · 44 citations

  • Biology
  • Computational biology
  • Evolutionary biology
  DOI

Recent grants

• Structural and Functional Biology-based analysis of non-oncogene cancer dependencies

  NIH · $17.0M · 2021–2022

• Structural and Functional Biology-based analysis of non-oncogene cancer dependencies

  NIH · $4.2M · 2021–2021

• Genome-wide structure-based analysis of protein-protein interactions and networks

  NIH · $2.7M · 2021–2031

• Molecular Mechanisms in Adhesion Protein Mediated Neuron-Neuron Recognition

  NSF · $1.0M · 2019–2024

• NIH Grant T32GM008281

  NIH · $7.4M · 2018

Frequent coauthors

• Lawrence Shapiro

  Columbia University

  183 shared

• Göran Ahlsén

  Columbia University

  110 shared

• Donald Petrey

  Columbia University Irving Medical Center

  109 shared

• Fabiana Bahna

  Columbia University

  106 shared

• Phinikoula S. Katsamba

  Columbia University

  90 shared

• Hillary Rodman

  84 shared

• Janos Κ. Lanyi

  University of California, Irvine

  82 shared

• Roberto A. Bogomolni

  University of California, Santa Cruz

  82 shared

Education

• Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Biology

  Columbia University

  1973

• Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Chemistry

  Harvard University

  1970

• PhD, Chemical Physics

  Tel Aviv University/Weizmann Institute of Science

  1968

• MS, Chemistry

  Johns Hopkins University

  1964

• B.Sc., Chemistry

  Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

  1963

Awards & honors

• NSF Graduate Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University, 1963-1964
• NSF Graduate Fellowship, Weizmann Institute of Science, 1964…
• NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harvard University, 1968-1970
• President, Biophysical Society 1990-1991
• Deans Distinguished Lecture, Columbia University, 1994

Similar researchers at Columbia University

• Eric R. Kandelh-248
• René Henh-177
• Peter D Kwongh-176
• Lawrence Elliot Friedh-171
• Tom Maniatish-162