Dr Alessandro Pandini
Senior Lecturer in Computer Science

An integrated computational-experimental method to redesign protein dynamics
Funder: Leverhulme Trust
Duration: December 2017 - November 2020

Synthetic biology is aimed at introducing changes in organisms to redesign their biological functions. For example, building new materials from nano-scale bacterial fibres. Most biological functions are performed by proteins, that are like small machines with moving parts. However, unlike an engine, their shape constantly change through a process called dynamics. As this is integral to how proteins work, the most desirable way to modify protein function would be to change how they move. In this project, we will develop and apply a novel approach to design protein dynamics based on cycles of computer predictions and experiments in the lab.