CAREER: Spectroscopic Studies of Membrane Protein Folding

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In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division and the Molecular Biophysics Program of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Biology Directorate, Prof. Judy E. Kim of the University of California, San Diego, and her graduate and undergraduate student colleagues will work to develop a better understanding of the mechanics of the folding, insertion and aggregation of membrane-bound proteins in biological systems. Prof. Kim and her group propose to do this with a powerful suite of spectroscopic tools, including steady state and time-resolved resonance emission spectroscopy (fluorescence, phosphorescence, and UV resonance Raman) along with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.Membrane proteins are believed to comprise roughly 30% of all cellular proteins, and these serve important biological functions as gates, pumps, receptors, energy transducers, etc. Prof. Kim will also develop new biophysically-oriented courses (undergraduate and graduate,) and she will work to bring biophysical topics (e.g. protein misfolding and how it relates to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease) to a wider audience, through community outreach efforts.