Biomolecular modeling
Research interests
The Ytreberg lab uses molecular modeling to understand protein function and evolution. Most of our research is done in close collaboration with other scientists who perform experiments on viral and cellular systems.
Predicting how protein evolution hampers our ability to treat disease
Pathogens evolve rapidly and can develop amino acid mutations that prevent effective treatment of the disease. We are interested in predicting mutations that could be dangerous to humans by determining those that prevent therapeutic molecules from interacting with target proteins.
Using molecular modeling to help develop better therapeutics
Therapeutic molecules are typically designed to bind a particular target protein with strong binding characteristics. We are interested in using and developing tools that can be used to estimate the binding affinities and binding rates of peptides or synthetic small molecules for a target protein.