Rate My Professor Francisco Asturias

Francisco Asturias, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine. He also serves as Director-Faculty in the department and is a full member of the Colorado Cancer Center in Molecular and Cellular Oncology. His research utilizes cryo-electron microscopy to determine high-resolution structures of macromolecular complexes involved in essential cellular processes, integrating structural data with biochemical and functional analyses to reveal their molecular mechanisms. Asturias focuses on eukaryotic transcription regulation, including the Mediator complex, RNA polymerase II interactions, and related factors, as well as HIV-1 capsid inhibitors and human ribonucleotide reductase.

Asturias has authored numerous high-impact publications, including 'An IDR-dependent mechanism for nuclear receptor control of Mediator interaction with RNA polymerase II' (Molecular Cell, 2024), 'Structure of mammalian Mediator complex reveals Tail module architecture and interaction with a conserved core' (Nature Communications, 2021), 'Structural and mechanistic bases for a potent HIV-1 capsid inhibitor' (Science, 2020), 'A Pliable Mediator Acts as a Functional Rather Than an Architectural Bridge between Promoters and Enhancers' (Cell, 2019), 'Architecture of Pol II(G) and molecular mechanism of transcription regulation by Gdown1' (Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2018), and '3.3-Å resolution cryo-EM structure of human ribonucleotide reductase with substrate and allosteric regulators bound' (eLife, 2018). He has maintained long-term NIH funding as Principal Investigator for 'Structural studies of eukaryotic transcription' (R01GM067167, 2003–2026) and as Co-Principal Investigator on grants for HIV-1 capsid research (R01AI162665, 2022–2027; R01AI157802, 2020–2025). In 2017, he received appointment to Associate Professor with Tenure in the School of Medicine. His work, cited over 8,000 times, has profoundly influenced structural biology of transcription and antiviral mechanisms.