PSFRU Research Interests
While genomes carry the genetic information governing structures, functions and behaviour of cellular systems, proteins are the three-dimensional expressions of genes and are the most versatile macromolecules in biology. They mediate and regulate most cellular transactions through highly specific molecular recognition and functional events determined by their three-dimensional shapes. Proteins, therefore, form the very basis of life, and knowledge of their structure and function is essential to understand how life works. Furthermore, this knowledge is also vital to resolving the molecular mechanisms of disease since they are the locus of a wide range of deadly diseases. Therefore, correlating structure, energetics and dynamics is key to obtaining a coherent picture of the biological functions of proteins. To this end, our research interests are consolidated into three main areas:
- Folding mechanisms of multidomain and oligomeric proteins.
- Mechanisms of molecular recognition and biological functions.
- Protein dynamics and function.
Researchers in the PSFRU employ modern tools, including X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, UV/Vis-spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry, stopped-flow kinetics, bioinformatics, computer modelling and simulation and chemical synthesis, as well as the techniques of molecular biology.
