Dr. Roepe's graduate training in the Department of Physics at Boston University was initially in the use of advanced physical techniques to study the properties of cell membranes. Through collaborative work with molecular biologists in the Gobind Khorana laboratory, he began to appreciate the power of combining physical and molecular biological approaches for the study of biological membranes. After receiving his Ph.D. he pursued post-doctoral research on membrane transporters at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, and then spent a year at the Molecular Biology Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Medicine. These experiences fostered an interest in the molecular basis of membrane – related drug resistance phenomena. In 1990 he accepted joint appointments in Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and in Pharmacology at Cornell University Medical College, where he began work on drug resistance and transmembrane drug transport. When the work branched out to include studies of drug resistant malaria, his laboratory moved to Washington DC, where he is currently on the faculty of the Chemistry Dept., the Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology Dept., and the Tumor Biology Program at Georgetown University. His training and independent research has been interdisciplinary but organized around the topics of membrane transport, drug resistance, and mechanisms of drug action. His advocacy work for the US government and a variety of NGOs centers on topics related to neglected infectious diseases, drug resistance and drug development, and better health care delivery.
eRA Commons User Name: proepe
Academic Appointment(s)
- Primary
- Professor, College - Department of Chemistry
- Secondary
- Professor, SOM - Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology Academic Department