Laurie S. Kaguni

University Distinguished Professors College of Natural Science

• University Distinguished Professor

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Bio

Laurie S. Kaguni, professor of biochemistry, is internationally recognized for her expertise in the structural and mechanistic biochemistry of mitochondrial DNA replication. Her research aims to understand the molecular mechanisms that relate to the replication and expression of mitochondrial DNA genomes and their regulation. Kaguni is a faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and is director of the MSU Center for Mitochondrial Science and Medicine and of the Biochemistry Research Trainee Program.

Kaguni received her B.A. in biology from the University of California, San Diego, and her Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She conducted postdoctoral work at Stanford University, where she was a research fellow for both the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society, Inc.

Kaguni’s honors include an appointment by the Academy of Finland as a Finland Distinguished Professor at the University of Tampere (2009-2016), where her research lab was funded by the Academy of Finland. She was recognized early in her career with a Junior Faculty Research Award from the American Cancer Society and has twice received the College of Natural Science Distinguished Faculty Award.