Research
PhD | UCLA | Chemistry & Biochemistry
The design of novel proteins has become common laboratory practice in the last two decades. Fueled by accurate modeling of protein folding, a rich diversity of protein structural data, and integration of symmetric principles, self assembling macromolecular complexes have been demonstrated with broad potential for functionalization and therapeutic applications. The Yeates Lab has been a vanguard in these pursuits and continues to push the boundaries of protein design. Current work seek to build off of past success to harness macromolecular tools for diverse applications as well as create novel protein materials. We are actively exploring variations of symmetric protein design to both increase our control over the patterning of functional entities at the atomic scale, as well as establish more robust design heuristics for the creation of novel protein technologies.
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Professional Research Assistant | UC Denver | Pharmacology
With the introduction of channel rhodopsin into neurons in 2006, the ability to manipulate cells in the laboratory was forever changed. Since then, the optogenetics field has seen appreciable gains in the scope and impact of it's applications. Using photoreceptors from a variety of species, the Tucker Lab builds off of prior work to create optically tunable chimeric protein tools. Our work sought to make spatial and temporal control over cellular models accessible to researchers of all types. By coupling the binary output of photoreceptors with other protein functions, numerous examples of photo-activated applications are already possible such as control over gene expression and cell viability. These broadly allow researchers finer manipulation over processes in vivo, which ultimately allow new hypotheses to be tested, and greater insights into the molecular machinery that drives cells.
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