Christopher Fischer


Christopher Fischer
  • Professor
  • Chair
  • Research Interests: mathematics transference, curriculum development, and molecular biophysics
  • Physics & Astronomy
he/him/his

Contact Info

Call:
Malott Hall, room 1076
1251 Wescoe Hall Dr.
Lawrence, KS 66045

Biography

2021-present: Professor, University of Kansas

2010-2021: Associate Professor, University of Kansas

2004-2010: Assistant Professor, University of Kansas

2002-2004: NIH Postdoctoral Fellow

2000-2002: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Education

PhD in Applied Physics, University of Michigan, 2000
MS in Applied Physics, University of Michigan, 1998
AB in Physics, Washington University, 1994
Magna Cum Laude

Research

My research is focused on physics education, with a particular interest in introductory physics instruction.  This includes developing curriculum interventions that target improvements in mathematics transfer and exploring how the use of alternative grading mechanisms affects student mindset and self-efficacy towards learning physics, especially among cohorts of students traditionally underrepresented in STEM.  More recently, I have become interested in how neo-fascists falsely characterize and subsequently attack DEI efforts in higher education as part of a larger effort to withdraw public support (financial and otherwise) for universities and federal agencies both to control the political and historical narratives in this country and to provide some fiscal cover for their neoliberal economic policies which have been repeatedly shown to benefit only the already wealthy.  Separate but related to this is an exploration of how the voluntary compliance of institutions of higher education in enforcing a list of forbidden words such as BIPOC, transgender, LGBTQ, black, Latinx, and nonbinary affects academic performance and feelings of community and safety among students identifying as part of those groups.

Selected Publications

  • Shuja S. Malik, Evan Rich, Ramya Viswanathan, Bradley R. Cairns, and Christopher J. Fischer. Allosteric Interactions of DNA and Nucleotides with S. cerevisiae RSC. Biochemistry, 50 (2011):7881-90. PMID: 21834590.
  • Eric J. Tomko, Christopher J. Fischer, and Timothy M. Lohman. Ensemble methods for monitoring enzyme translocation along single stranded nucleic acids.  Methods, 51 (2010):269-276.  PMID: 20371288.
  • Ali R. Khaki, Cassandra Field, Shuja Malik, Anita Niedziela-Majka, Stephanie A. Leavitt, Ruth Wang, Magdeleine Hung, Roman Sakowicz, Katherine M. Brendza, and Christopher J. Fischer. The Macroscopic Rate of Nucleic Acid Translocation by Hepatitis C Virus Helicase NS3h Is Dependent on Both Sugar and Base Moieties.  Journal of Molecular Biology, 400 (2010):354-378.  PMID: 20451531.
  • Dennis L. Matlock, Laxmi Yeruva, Alicia K. Byrd, Samuel G. Mackintosh, Clint Langston, Carrie Brown, Craig E. Cameron, Christopher J. Fischer, and Kevin D. Raney.  Investigation of translocation, DNA unwinding, and protein displacement by NS3h, the helicase domain from the Hepatitis C virus helicase.  Biochemistry, 49 (2010):2097-2109.  PMID: 20108974
  • Saroja K. Weeratunga, Scott Lovell, Huili Yao, Kevin P. Battaile, Christopher J. Fischer, Casey E. Gee, and Mario Rivera.  Structural Studies of Bacterioferritin B from Pseudomonas aeruginosa Suggest a Gating Mechanism for Iron Uptake via the Ferroxidase Center. Biochemistry, 49 (2010):1160-1175.  PMID: 20067302
  • Christopher J. Fischer, Lake Wooten, Eric J. Tomko and Timothy M. Lohman.  Kinetics of Motor Protein Translocation on Single Stranded DNA, in Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 587, Mohamed M. Abdelhaleem, Editor, 2010, Springer: New York, NY. p. 45-56.
  • Christopher J. Fischer, Kazuhiro Yamada, and Daniel J. Fitzgerald.  Kinetic Mechanism for Single stranded DNA binding and Translocation by S. cerevisiae Isw2.  Biochemistry, 48 (2009): 2960-2968.  PMID: 19203228
  • Christopher J. Fischer, Anjanabha Saha and Bradley R. Cairns.  Kinetic Model for the ATP-dependent Translocation of S. cerevisiae RSC along Double-stranded DNA.  Biochemistry, 46 (2007): 12416-12426.   PMID: 17918861
  • Eric J. Tomko, Christopher J. Fischer, Anita Niedziela-Majka and Timothy M. Lohman, A Discontinuous Stepping Mechanism for E. coli UvrD Monomer Translocation along Single Stranded DNA. Molecular Cell, 2007: in press.
  • Katherine M. Brendza, Wei Cheng, Christopher J. Fischer, Marla A. Chesnik, Anita Niedziela-Majka, and Timothy M. Lohman. Auto-inhibition of E. coli Rep Monomer Helicase Activity by Its 2B Sub-domain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102 (2005): 10076-10081
  • Christopher J. Fischer, Nasib K. Maluf and Timothy M. Lohman, Mechanism of ATP-Dependent Translocation of E. coli UvrD Monomers Along Single-Stranded DNA, Journal of Molecular Biology 344, 1287-1309 (2004)

Awards & Honors

2002-2004: NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship

1999-2000: NIA Multidisciplinary Research Training Grant

1997-1999: NIH Molecular Biophysics Training Grant

1994-1996: Reagents Fellowship, University of Michigan

Memberships

Member, Biophysical Society