Research Projects

The three-dimensional structure of biomolecules determines their properties and function, and X-ray crystallography is a leading technique for investigating molecular structures in atomic detail. Our department uses crystallography to determine the relationship between the structure and function of proteins and nucleic acids. The main areas of our interest are:

• pathogenic RNA sequences that cause neurodegenerative disorders known as TREDs, and interactions of such sequences with potential therapeutics
• chitinolythic enzymes, especially from extremophiles, as a material for constructing an artificial chitinosome
• proteins from extremophiles as models for investigating the bases of adaptation of organisms to extreme environmental conditions, in particular to identify those elements of the structure that are responsible for proteins’ stability in thermophiles and enzymatic efficiency in psychrophiles.
• proteins from pathogens as therapeutic targets, eg. thymidylate synthase, aminotransferases, urease
• proteins and their enzymatic reaction mechanisms at ultra-high resolution.