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Libich Lab

Libich Lab

David S. Libich, PhD

St. Baldrick’s Foundation Scholar

Rank: Associate Professor
Department: Biochemistry & Structural Biology
Office: Greehey CCRI: 4.100.22 / RAB: 5.206.2
Tel: 210-562-9151  |  210-450-8326
libich@uthscsa.edu

UTHSA Faculty Profile: David Libich,, PhD

Lab Research

Protein interactions mediate all cellular functions, activities, and communications. Despite their crucial importance, we know relatively little about many of these interactions due in large part to experimental limitations of structural biology. The central theme of my lab revolves around the determination of the structure and elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of highly dynamic and transient protein interactions. Our current efforts are focused on understanding the assembly and functional interactions of the low-complexity domains of RNA-binding proteins involved in cancer and neurodegenerative processes. In particular, we are interested in the oncogenic fusion protein EWS-Fli1 and the structural implications of its role as the sole driver of Ewing’s sarcoma. These types of proteins are challenging targets for biophysical characterization due to their extreme structural heterogeneity and propensity to aggregate.

Lab Staff

Victoria Alers (co-advised with Dr. Penalva)
Student

Antoine Baudin, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Hoang Dinh
Research Assistant

Emily Lancaster, PhD.
Postdoctoral Fellow

George Parra
Graduate Research Assistant
Greehey Graduate Fellowship
TL1 translational science fellowship

Erich Sohn
Graduate Student

Xiaoping Xu
Research Scientist

Featured News

JoVE: Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement for Detecting and Characterizing Self-Associations of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (Libich Lab)

KENS5: UT Health gets a $306,000 grant to study Ewing sarcoma

Since 2004, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute’s (Greehey CCRI) mission has been to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer, contribute to the understanding of its causes, and accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Through the discovery, development, and dissemination of new scientific knowledge, Greehey CCRI strives to have a national and global impact on childhood cancer. Our mission consists of three key areas: research, clinical, and education.

Stay connected with the Greehey CCRI on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

UT Health SA Newsroom: Greehey cancer researcher receives UT System’s Rising STARs award

Since 2004, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute’s (Greehey CCRI) mission has been to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer, contribute to the understanding of its causes, and accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Through the discovery, development, and dissemination of new scientific knowledge, Greehey CCRI strives to have a national and global impact on childhood cancer. Our mission consists of three key areas: research, clinical, and education.

Stay connected with the Greehey CCRI on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

News

Protein Science: Molecular basis of EWS interdomain self-association and its role in condensate formation (Libich Lab)
September 22, 2025

Since 2004, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute’s (Greehey CCRI) mission has been to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer, contribute to the understanding of its causes, and accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Through the discovery, development, and dissemination of new scientific knowledge, Greehey CCRI strives to have a national and global impact on childhood cancer. Our mission consists of three key areas: research, clinical, and education.

Stay connected with the Greehey CCRI on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Biochemistry: The Spliceosomal Peptidyl Prolyl Isomerase Like 1 Interacts with the Low-Complexity Domain of the RNA Binding Protein EWS Modulating Its Phase Separation Behavior (Libich Lab)
August 8, 2025

Since 2004, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute’s (Greehey CCRI) mission has been to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer, contribute to the understanding of its causes, and accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Through the discovery, development, and dissemination of new scientific knowledge, Greehey CCRI strives to have a national and global impact on childhood cancer. Our mission consists of three key areas: research, clinical, and education.

Stay connected with the Greehey CCRI on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Biochemistry: The Spliceosomal Peptidyl Prolyl Isomerase Like 1 Interacts with the Low-Complexity Domain of the RNA Binding Protein EWS Modulating Its Phase Separation Behavior (Libich Lab)
July 17, 2025

Since 2004, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute’s (Greehey CCRI) mission has been to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer, contribute to the understanding of its causes, and accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Through the discovery, development, and dissemination of new scientific knowledge, Greehey CCRI strives to have a national and global impact on childhood cancer. Our mission consists of three key areas: research, clinical, and education.

Stay connected with the Greehey CCRI on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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