Richard H. Ebright

Studies the structure and mechanism of bacterial RNA polymerase (the enzyme that bacteria use to synthesize RNA), and develops new antituberculosis and broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs that function by inhibiting bacterial RNA polymerase. Contributions in transcription, transcription regulation, and transcription inhibitors include defining the structural and mechanistic basis of transcription initiation, defining the recruitment mechanism of transcription activation, and identifying novel drug targets in transcription complexes. More than 170 publications and more than 30 patents. Currently principal investigator on four National Institutes of Health grants and a Global Alliance for TB Drug Development contract. Former Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.