Faculty Profile for Dr. Steven T Whitten

profile photo for Dr. Steven T Whitten
Dr. Steven T Whitten
Associate Professor — Chemistry and Biochemistry
Associate Professor — South Texas Doctoral Bridge Program
CENT 408B
phone: (512) 245-7893
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Ph.D. in biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, 2000.
B.S. in physics, University of Nebraska, Omaha, 1994.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Wilson, C., Lewis, K. A., Fitzkee, N. C., Hough, L. E., & Whitten, S. T. (2023). ParSe 2.0: A web tool to identify drivers of protein phase separation at the proteome level. Protein Science, 32(9). https://doi.org/doi: 10.1002/pro.4756
  • Yarawsky, A. E., Ori, A. L., English, L. R., Whitten, S. T., & Herr, A. B. (2023). Convergent behavior of extended stalk regions from staphylococcal surface proteins with widely divergent sequence patterns. Protein Science, 32(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.4707
  • Ibrahim, A. Y., Khaodeuanepheng, N. P., Amarasekara, D. L., Correia, J. J., Lewis, K. A., Fitzkee, N. C., … Whitten, S. T. (2023). Intrinsically disordered regions that drive phase separation form a robustly distinct protein class. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 299(1), 102801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102801
  • Paiz, E. A., Correia, J. J., Fitzkee, N. C., Hough, L. E., & Whitten, S. T. (2021). Beta turn propensity and a model polymer scaling exponent identify intrinsically disordered phase-separating proteins. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 297(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101343
  • Paiz, E. A., Lewis, K. A., & Whitten, S. T. (2021). Structural and energetic characterization of the denatured state from the perspectives of peptides, the coil library, and intrinsically disordered proteins. Molecules, 26(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030634

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Texas State Tansfer Champion Honorable Mention, Texas State University. October 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching, Texas State University, College of Science and Engineering. 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Secretary-Treasurer, Intrinsically Disordered Protein (IDP) Subgroup of the Biophysical Society. March 2019 - March 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Secretary-Treasurer Elect, Intrinsically Disordered Protein (IDP) Subgroup of the Biophysical Society. March 2018 - March 2019
  • Award / Honor Nominee: Department Nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University. 2018

Selected Grants

  • Lewis, Karen A, Whitten, Steven T (Co-Principal), Hough, Loren (Co-Principal), Hodby, Eleanor (Co-Principal), Theodoropoulou, Nikoleta (Supporting), Close, Eleanor W (Supporting), Rangelov, Blagoy (Supporting), Islam, Tanzima Z (Supporting), Betancourt, Tania (Supporting), Berry, Joe (Supporting), Finklestein, Noah (Supporting), MacGregor, Meredith (Supporting), Brown, Jed (Supporting), Eaves, Joel (Supporting). Creating Equitable Pathways to STEM Graduate Education, Sloan Foundation, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $249299. (Submitted: September 2, 2022, Funded: January 2023 - Present). Grant.
  • Lewis, Karen A (Principal), Kerwin, Sean Michael (Co-Principal), Whitten, Steven T (Co-Principal), Kornienko, Alexander Vladimir (Supporting), Peterson, Ryan Loren (Supporting), Xue, Xiaoyu (Supporting). MRI: Acquisition of Automated Isothermal Titration Calorimeter for Biophysical Research at Texas State University, National Science Foundation, Federal, $262280. (Submitted: January 19, 2022, Funded: September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2025). Grant.
  • Lewis, Karen A (Principal), Whitten, Steven T (Co-Principal), Betancourt, Tania (Co-Principal), Stachowiak, Jeanne (Co-Principal), Deb, Seemanta. Hydrogel formation by the N-terminal domains of the Eyes Absent Proteins 1 and 2, PREM CIMA and National Science Foundation, Federal. (Submitted: November 2024, Funded: January 2025 - Present). Grant.
  • Whitten, Steven T (Principal), Lewis, Karen A (Co-Principal), Libich, David S (Co-Principal), Oyajobi, Babatunde Olukayode (Co-Principal). Texas Doctoral Bridge Program, NIH, Federal, $2836154. (Submitted: September 26, 2023, Funded: August 1, 2024 - July 31, 2029). Grant.
  • Whitten, Steven T (Principal), Lewis, Karen A (Co-Principal), Spooner, Melinda Henrietta (Co-Principal). Health Research Accelerator Award, Translational Health Research Center, Texas State University, $15000. (Submitted: March 3, 2023, Funded: May 15, 2023 - March 1, 2024). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Editorial Review Board Member
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Molecular Biophysics
August 5, 2022-Present
Editorial Review Board Member
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Molecular Recognition
March 2021-Present
Program Coordinator
Biochemistry MS Degree Program
2016-Present
Chair
Graduate Biochemistry Curriculum Committee
2016-Present
Member
Personnel Committee, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
September 1, 2015-Present