Biomolecular NMR, Drug Design, Membrane Proteins

Structural elucidation of large bio-molecular complexes for rational drug design is the major goal of our research. It is fascinating how tightly dynamically controlled protein-protein interactions affect each and every step of the life cycle. We’d like to develop an understanding of how the information associated with essential biological events is mediated at atomic level and to utilize new paradigms for facilitated design of novel therapeutics.

Solution NMR spectroscopy is an especially powerful technique for examining protein-protein interactions and their dynamic properties at near-physiological conditions. In the post genomic era it is both our privilege and our obligation to make sense of the vast amounts of data generated by sequencing efforts.

Based on the completed genomic analyses of microorganisms, membrane proteins account for about one-third of all the proteins. However, despite recent explosive advances in structural biology the number of membrane protein structures solved each year is limited. Even though complete structure determination of integral membrane proteins by solution NMR remains challenging, it is now feasible to investigate a wide variety of extremely important membrane-associated targets involved in cellular signal transduction.