Engineering of ultrastable self-assembling protein gamma-prefoldin from extremophile M. jannaschii  

Redesign protein-protein interaction interface for the controlled assembly into defined geometric shapes

Functionalization of nanofibers through attaching enzymes or metal nanoparticles to form biocatalytic / electronic nanofibers  

Design protein-based scaffolds that can be used to control spatial organization of biological components such as enzymes

Dynamic formation of metabolons (enzyme assembly) may allow spatio-temporal control over complex metabolic reactions

We are exploring diverse protein scaffolds ranging from self-assembling nanofibers to phase-separating intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs)

Protein functionality can be improved through artifical laboratory-assisted evolution (directed evolution)

While evolution of enzymes has been widely demonstrated, evolution of protein material assembly is largely unexplored

We aim to use novel platform such as phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE) to evolve material properties and assembly behaviors of proteins