Katsuhiko Murakami began his research career as a graduate student at the National Institute of Genetics and the Graduate University of Advanced Studies in Japan, earning his Ph.D. in 1997. From 1998 to 2003, he conducted postdoctoral research at Rockefeller University, where he determined the first X-ray crystal structures of the bacterial RNA polymerase holoenzyme and its complex with promoter DNA.
In 2003, Dr. Murakami joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Pennsylvania State University as an Assistant Professor and achieved the rank of Full Professor in 2015.
Dr. Murakami's research group focuses on elucidating the structure and function of RNA polymerases across bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes, and phages. Using X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) techniques, his team has made significant contributions to understanding transcription mechanism and regulation, as well as advancing the development of bacterial RNA polymerase inhibitors for effective antibiotic therapies.
His achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including being named a Pew Scholar in 2005, elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2020, and receiving the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal in 2024. He serves as the Director of the Huck Center for Structural Biology.