Tanja Kortemme
University of California, San Francisco, USA
Sensors and new shapes: Computational design of new molecular geometries and ligand-controlled functions
Abstract
There has been exciting progress in the computational design of proteins with new structures, highlighting the potential to advance many applications in biological engineering, as well as to provide insights into the design principles of natural protein functions. Many significant challenges remain, both in the accuracy of current computational approaches, and in the complexity of protein geometries and functions that can be designed at present. I will discuss our recent progress with new computational methods and their applications. Our new work includes (i) reshaping of protein conformations for reprogrammed functions, (ii) engineering small molecule binding sites de novo to detect and respond to new small molecule signals in living cells, and (iii) controlling protein shapes to create fold families for new functions.
Short Bio
Dr. Tanja Kortemme is a professor at the University of San Francisco. Her main scientific interests range from the details of the physical interactions between atoms and molecules to the architecture and evolution of interaction networks in complex biological systems.
For details of her research and recent publication, please visit HERE
