Matt Bochman

Matt Bochman (aka Doc Boc) is a yinzer from Pittsburgh, PA. He grew up as a runner and science geek, and he focused on the latter at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA. In 2001, He lucked into an independent research position in the lab of Dr. Michael W. Morrow at Juniata, where he learned to love yeast and good beer. In 2003, he started graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied the eukaryotic Mcm2-7 replicative helicase in the lab of Anthony Schwacha. Matt graduated with a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology in 2008 and went on to postdoc in the lab of Virginia Zakian at Princeton University. There, he studied the roles of PIF1 family helicases in the maintenance of G-quadruplex DNA. In 2013, he joined the faculty of Indiana University as an assistant professor in the Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Department, and in 2015, he co-founded Wild Pitch Yeast LLC.

Dr. Bochman and his lab have made the following contributions to science:

1. Revealed that the Mcm2-7 complex is the eukaryotic replicative helicase by demonstrating in vitro DNA unwinding by the complex for the first time.

2. Predicted the existence of a distinct discontinuity (the Mcm2/5 gate) in the Mcm2-7 complex.

3. Showed that unwinding G-quadruplex structures is a biochemical activity of PIF1 helicases that is conserved across 3 billion years of evolution.

4. Established the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hrq1 helicase as a simple model to understand the disease-linked human RECQL4 helicase.

5. Demonstrated that the biochemical activities of PIF1 family helicases are regulated by lysine acetylation.

6. Characterized terminal acid shock and developed a method to overcome it during the packaging of bottle-conditioned beverages.

7. Identified several heterofermentative species of yeast, enabling the creation of bacteria-free sour beers.

Education & Positions

1999-2003 B.S. Molecular Biology Juniata College

2003-2008 Ph.D. Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental biology University of Pittsburgh

2009-2013 Postdoctoral fellow Princeton University

2013-2020 Assistant professor Indiana University

2020-pres Associate Professor Indiana University

2020-pres Director of Graduate Studies, Biochemistry Graduate Program

Awards & Honors

1999 Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award

2002 Tri-Beta National Biological Honors Society, Lambda Epsilon Chapter

2002 Pfizer Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship

2003 William J. von Liebig Student Research Award

2003 Dr. Andrew B. and Maria F. Brumbaugh Science Prize

2003 Best Poster, Biology, Juniata College Research Symposium

2004 Honorable Mention, poster, Department of Biological Sciences Retreat

2008 Travel Award, 5th Salk/Caltech/USC Conference on DNA Replication

2008 Mary P. Edmonds Award for best graduate student authored paper

2010 Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows (F32) – declined

2010 American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship (PF-10-145-02-01) – accepted

2011 DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics

2012 F1000 Associate Faculty Member Travel Grant

2018 Trustees Teaching Award (Tenure Track Faculty group)

2019 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Travel Award

2019 Dovetail Tree of Life Award - declined

2021 Young Scientist Research Support Program, Shuimu BioSciences

Publications

For a complete list of publications authored by Matthew L. Bochman, please click here.

Fun Facts

Aside from being a professional sciencer, Doc Boc is an amateur brewer (beer, cider, and kombucha), meat smoker, woodworker, and cryptocurrency investor. He also has 4 kids, so his free time to do anything other than juggle parental responsibilities is minimal.