People: Oregon Biophysicist Becomes State's First Howard Hughes Medical Investigator

Brian Matthews, professor of physics at the University of Oregon and director of the university's Institute of Molecular Physics, has been appointed to a seven-year term as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Originally from Australia, Matthews, 52, becomes Oregon's first HHMII and will continue to hold his positions at UO. In addition, he is also adjunct professor of biochemistry at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.

Matthews is best known for his contributions to the field of structural biology, including studies of protein-DNA interactions, protein structure and stability, and X-ray crystallography. "On a personal level, I'm pleased to be [an HHMII], because it reflects the quality of our research program," he says. "Also, from a scientific point of view, it will enable us to expand our research into new areas."

Matthews, an author or coauthor of about 170 papers, presented an actual description of the structure of the...