 Kuriyan's laboratory studies the structure and mechanism of enzymes and other proteins that transduce cellular signals and perform DNA replication.The laboratory primarily uses x-ray crystallography to determine 3-D protein structures as well as biochemical, biophysical, and computational techniques to uncover the mechanisms used by these proteins.In 1989, Kuriyan was named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, a program supporting promising young researchers in the areas of basic and clinical sciences relevant to human health advancements.