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Research
Interests
Protein design is a young and
rapidly growing field. It brings together the expertise of chemists, physicists,
mathematicians, and biologists to create the final product: a newly designed
protein. Scientists in the field are faced with a fascinating challenge:
to outdo Nature in designing proteins. The task is complicated by the fact
that natural proteins have undergone millions of years of evolutionary
adaptation. Designing proteins from scratch is the ultimate test of our
understanding of protein folding, structure, and function. More importantly,
protein design has many potential applications in nanotechnology, bioelectronics,
industrial chemistry, and medicine.
We use very fast computational
algorithms to search through an astronomical number of possible amino acid
sequences and to obtain the optimal sequence for a particular protein scaffold.
Computationally predicted sequences are constructed experimentally and
assayed for the desired properties. Experimental results are fed back into
the computational algorithm, completing the protein design cycle. We are
particularly interested in applying protein design to studying protein-protein
interactions and modifying protein binding affinity and specificity. The
nature of our research allows us to work closely with hard-core theorists
whose simple models of protein folding and design offer clear insights
into protein behavior. At the same time, we collaborate with experimental
biologists providing them with computational means to study various biological
systems. |
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