Marilyn Gunner is a physics professor at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

(CUNY) and a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

. She is known for her work on

molecular biophysics Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and biology. It seeks to understand biomolecular systems and explain biological function in ter ...

and

structural biology Structural biology deals with structural analysis of living material (formed, composed of, and/or maintained and refined by living cells) at every level of organization. Early structural biologists throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries we ...

Education

Gunner received her B.A. from the State University of New York (Binghamton). She completed her Ph.D. in 1988 at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where she worked on topics such as electron transfer in proteins with Leslie Dutton.

Career and research

Gunner previously worked in the lab of Barry Honig at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where she studied electrostatic control of proteins. She is now a professor in the physics department at CUNY where she has continued to study protein interactions. As of 2021, her 140 publications have been cited over 5,800 times. She is the lead investigator of the Multi-Conformation Continuum Electrostatics (MCCE) project, which is "a biophysics simulation program combining continuum electrostatics and molecular mechanics." Gunner was also part of a collaboration which measured the efficiency of energy storage in

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...

, work that could have implications for

astrobiology Astrobiology (also xenology or exobiology) is a scientific field within the List of life sciences, life and environmental sciences that studies the abiogenesis, origins, Protocell, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the univ ...

. In 2006, Gunner served as the chair of the Division of Biological Physics in the American Physical Society. She currently serves as a member of the editorial board for both the ''

Journal of the Royal Society Interface The ''Journal of the Royal Society Interface'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the interface between the life sciences and the physical sciences, including chemistry, engineering, materials science, mathematics, and physics. ...

'' and

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta ''Biochimica et Biophysica Acta'' (''BBA'') is a peer review, peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of biochemistry and biophysics that was established in 1947. The journal is published by Elsevier with a total of 100 annual issues in ten ...

– Bioenergetics. Gunner has also served as both a general member and as a member of the board of directors for the Telluride Science Research Center.

Awards and recognition

*The

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

(1996)'': "For biophysics of proteins"'' *Fellow of the American Physical Society, Division of Biological Physics (2007)'': "For her work in both experimental and theoretical studies of electron and proton transfer processes in proteins, in particular for her beautiful work coupling the theory of electrostatic interactions to the dynamics of charge transfer in photosynthetic reaction centers, and in recognition of her service to the Division of Biological Physics."''

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American physicists City College of New York faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers {{US-physicist-stub