Professor of Physics (Retired)
140 Padnos Hall of Science
Department of Physics
Tel: (616) 331-3084
Fax: (616) 331-3740
Email: [email protected]

Education 

• Ph.D. in Physics, 1983, University of Oregon.
• MS in Physics, 1978, University of Oregon.
• BS in Physics with Astronomy Concentration, 1973, Michigan State University.

Professional Experience

• Professor of Physics, Grand Valley State University, 1990 - 2021 (Retired in 2021).
• Visiting Scientist, Van Andel Research Institute, 2003 to Present.
• Visiting Scientist Pharmacia and Upjohn, Kalamazoo, 1990 to 2003.
• NASA JOVE Fellow, Marshall Space Flight Center, 1990 to 1993.
• Assistant Professor of Physics, Colby College, 1983 to 1990.
• Post-Doctoral Teaching / Research Assistant, University of Oregon, 1975 to 1983.
• Associate Physicist, Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab, 1973 to 1975.

Teaching 

My teaching specialties include Introductory Calculus-based Physics, Solid State Physics, Astronomy, and Experimental Methods courses.

Research Interests

My professional field of expertise is Protein Crystallography, which draws techniques from Physics, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Mathematics and Engineering. I have worked with a group at NASA preparing crystallization experiments for the Shuttle. I've collaborated with researchers at Upjohn, which became Pharmacia, and more recently Pfizer on structure-based drug design. I'm currently work with the Structural Sciences group at Van Andel Institute, with a focus on cancer research. Over the years I've worked on structures of enzymes, electron transfer proteins, cell growth regulatory proteins and nuclear hormone receptor complexes. Ive also worked on a variety of instruments from fairly simple cameras using film to the latest CCD cameras using a a positron storage ring for an x-ray source. Research with Undergraduates

Selected Publications

• Zhou, X.E., K.M. Suino-Powell, Y. Xu, C.W. Chan, O. Tanabe, S.W. Kruse, R. Reynolds, J.D. Engel, and H.E. Xu. "The orphan nuclear receptor TR4 is a vitamin A-activated nuclear receptor,"  J Biol Chem 286(4): 2877-2885 (2011).
• Suino, K, Peng, L, Reynolds, R., Yong, L., Cha, J., Repa, J, Kliewer, S., Xu, E., The Nuclear Xenobiotic Receptor CAR: Structural Determinants of Constitutive Activation and Heterodimerization. Molecular Cell, 2004, Volume 16, Number 6.  893 - 905.
• Reynolds, R.A., Watt, W., Watenpaugh, K.D. The Structures and Comparison of the Y98H (2.0) and Y98W (1.5) Mutants of Flavodoxin (Desulfovibrio vulgaris). Acta Cryst.,2001, D57, 527-535.
• Reynolds, R.A, Yem A.W., Wolfe, C.L., Diebel, M.R. Chidester, C.G., and Watenpaugh, K.D. Crystal Structure of the Catalytic Subunit of Cdc25B Required for G2/M Phase Transition of the Cell Cycle. Journal of Molecular Biology,1999, 293, 559-568.

Invited Presentations

• Structural determinants that mediate CAR/RXR heterodimerization and ligand dependent/independent activation Presented at 12th International Conference on Biological Inorganic Chemistry Satellite Meeting on Metallo-Membrane Proteins. Michigan State Univ. July, 2005.
• Initial Structural Results on Complex or CAR/RXR/TIF-2/TCPOBOP. Presented at the Symposium on the Evolution of Biomolecular Structure, Michigan State University, June 4th, 2004.
• The Anisotropic Refinement of the Y98W Mutant of Flavodoxin (Desulfovibrio vulgaris) Proceedings of the American Crystallographic Association . 2001.
• The Structure of the Catalytic Subunit of Cdc25B at 1.9 Resolution. International Crystallographic Union, Glasgow Scotland. August 1999.

Professional Affiliations

• American Physical Society (APS)