Jacqueline Pelham

Jackie Pelham’s research focuses on how proteins organize cellular physiology in space and time, particularly how the molecular circadian clock regulates biological processes. The Pelham Lab investigates how the intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of clock proteins help keep time while contributing to the plasticity and robustness of circadian timekeeping. The Lab primarily uses the model organism Neurospora crassa to explore these questions, employing real-time in vivo bioluminescence tracking, phenotypic analyses, and microscopy. Pelham’s research also integrates molecular genetics, biochemistry, biophysics, and proteomics to uncover the mechanistic underpinnings of the circadian clock in eukaryotes.

Prior to joining Smith, she conducted research as an independent Cori Faculty Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Usher, E.T., Pelham, J. F. Disordered but Rhythmic–the role of protein disorder in eukaryotic circadian timekeeping. FEBS Letters 600 (6) (2026):165-792. Featured Cover art: https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/18733468/2026/600/6.

Ginell, G. M., Emenecker, R. J., Lotthammer, J. M., Keeley, A. T., Plassmeyer, S. P., Razo, N., Usher, E. T., Pelham, J. F., Holehouse, A.S. Direct prediction of intermolecular interactions driven by disordered regions. Science 388 (2025): 6749.

Keeley, A. T., Lotthammer, J. M., Pelham, J. F. Rhythmidia: A modern tool for circadian period analysis of filamentous fungi. PLoS Computational Biology 20 (2024): e1012167.

Jankowski, M.S., Griffith, D., Shastry, D.G., Pelham, J.F., Ginell, G.M., Thomas, J., Karande, P., Holehouse, A.S., Hurley, J.M. Disordered clock protein interactions and charge blocks turn an hourglass into a persistent circadian oscillator. Nature Communications 15 (1) (2024): 3523.

Pelham, J.F., Mosier, A.E., Altshuler, S.C., Rhodes, M.L., Kirchhoff, C.L., Fall, W.B., Mann, C., Baik, L.S., Chiu, J.C., Hurley, J.M. Conformational changes in the negative arm of the circadian clock correlate with dynamic interactomes involved in post-transcriptional regulation. Cell Reports 42 (2023): 4.

Pelham, J.F., Dunlap, J.C., Hurley, J.M. Intrinsic disorder is an essential characteristic of components in the conserved circadian circuit. Cell Signaling and Communication 18 (2020): 181.

Pelham, J.F., Mosier, A.E., Hurley, J.M. Characterizing Time-of-Day Conformational Changes in the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins of the Circadian Clock. Methods in Enzymology 611 (2018): 503- 529.