Molecular Biophysics

Molecular Biophysics is an exciting interdisciplinary research area. Georgia Tech has a vibrant, interactive biophysics research faculty and state–of–the–art instrumentation. Biophysics research projects at Georgia Tech involve investigations of macromolecular structure, function, and catalysis. A wide variety of approaches, including spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, microscopy, single molecule techniques, and computation are employed.

Molecular Biophysics Faculty

Gang Bao
To understand how do structural and mechanical properties of DNA, RNA and proteins under stretching, twisting, bending and shearing conditions affect DNA-protein, RNA-protein, and protein-protein interactions.

Bridgette Barry
Biological electron transfer, membrane biophysics, vibrational spectroscopy, epr spectroscopy, phtosynthesis

Robert M. Dickson
Standard fluorescent labels are unsuitable for long-time single molecule imaging, especially in high-background living systems. We are developing high brightness, robust Au and Ag nanoclusters as a new class of in vivo fluorescent and Raman labels and testing them in living cells to reveal individual protein dynamics within living system.

Mostafa A. El-Sayed
Nanoscience: synthesis and study of the properties of nanomaterial of different shapes:, nanotechnology: potential use of nanoparticles in: a) nanomedicine: diagnostics and selective photothermal therapy of cancer.

Christoph J. Fahrni
Development and application of cation-selective fluorescent sensors for biophotonics. Study of metal-ion distribution and subcellular localization in live cells using two-photon excitation microscopy and SCRF microscopy.

Facundo Fernandez
Research in the Fernandez Lab focuses on the development of novel bioanalytical mass spectrometric techniques to solve complex proteomic and biomedical scientific questions. The experiments involve state-of-the-art time-of-flight analyzers, ion mobility spectrometry, MEMS ion sources, atmospheric pressure MALDI ionization and the mining of the obtained data using chemometric tools such as multivariate calibration and clustering and genetic algorithm variable selection.

Andrés Garcia
Interests focus on the contributions of focal adhesion assembly (size, position, composition) to cell adhesion strengthening. In particular, analyses of the contributions of integrin receptor-ligand affinity to cell adhesion strength in the context of clusters (e.g., avidity) are significant to an understanding of the regulation of adhesive interactions.

Stephen Harvey
Dr. Harvey's research group investigates relationships between macromolecular structure, dynamics and function, using computer-based modeling methods. Systems under investigation include proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids, as well as lipoproteins and protein-nucleic acid complexes

Rigoberto Hernandez
The research training in the Hernandez group will expose students to analytic and computational approaches in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics to understand the structure and dynamics within and between proteins

Nicholas V. Hud
Research in the Hud laboratory is directed towards elucidating the fundamental chemical and physical principles that govern nucleic acid assembly, and the development of novel ways to control this assembly in vitro.

Nils Kröger
Analysis of the chemical structures, self-assembly and silica forming properties of silaffins by HPLC, MS, NMR spectroscopy, DLS and SEM on the silica nanostructure of genetically transformed diatoms with altered silaffin content.

Raquel L. Lieberman
We use protein crystallography, enzymology, biophysics, chemical biology and in silico modeling to elucidate the structure, function and mechanism of enzymes that perform hydrolysis reactions in an unusual chemical environment: within or at the surface of the lipid bilayer of a cell.

L. Andrew Lyon
We are interested in understanding the molecular design rules that govern the interface between biomacromolecules and synthetic hydrogels for a range of application in controlled and targeted delivery of therapeutic agents.

Nael McCarty
The McCarty lab uses biophysical approaches to understand the structure, function, and regulation of plasma membrane ion channels and receptors.

Boris Mizaikoff
The development of multifunctional analytical platforms and sensors to quantitatively measure and image molecular events, molecular pathways, and molecular signals at the level of individual cells, ensembles of small biological entities, and entire organisms.

Toan Nguyen
Virus assembly, geometry and elasticity of viral capsids, RNA and DNA condensation and packaging inside viruses, electrostatics of soft and biomaterial.

Christine Payne
Development and use of fluorescence microscopy to image the synthesis and degradation of proteins within the cell. Specific systems of interest include post-translational modification of proteins, proteolysis via the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and delivery of cargo to the lysosome for degradation.

Joseph Perry
Our research program focuses on understanding how the chemical structures of molecules and materials relate to their electronic and optical properties. We employ a molecular approach in which fundamental structure-property relations are defined through a coordinated synthesis, theory and characterization program.

Ingeborg Schmidt-Krey
Structure of electron crystallography, membrane proteins.

Jeffrey Skolnick
Computational biology

C. David Sherrill
Students working in the Sherrill group will learn how quantum mechanical models of electronic structure may be used to obtain reliable binding energies and substituent effects from which one can understand the fundamentals of noncovalent interactions (E.G., pi-pi, sulfur-pi, and cation-pi interactions) which govern biomolecular structure and drug binding.

Loren D. Williams
The Williams group focuses on experimental and informatic approaches to determining and characterizing nucleic acid structures, and the forces that govern the structures.

Cheng Zhu
The goal of Dr. Zhu's research is to gain a fundamental understanding of important biological processes at the level of cells and molecules, and their relations to human health and diseases.