CAREER: Molecular Motors and Protein Motion: From Mechanisms to Collective Effects

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。技术总结这一职业奖项将支持理论生物物理学领域的综合研究和教育计划，并得到材料研究部、分子和细胞生物系统部以及数学科学部的跨学科支持。研究部分将涉及定向和扩散蛋白质运动、活性凝胶和DNA靶标识别的理论，重点是将聚合物弹性效应纳入蛋白质运动对DNA的影响和蛋白质运动中的拥挤和集体效应。研究将在基因表达、DNA复制、DNA修复和细胞分裂等重要生物学问题上得到应用。这将有助于研究分子马达的社区中更广泛的努力，以了解不同的马达蛋白质，并开发理论工具来预测相互作用的蛋白质系统的行为。它还将有助于理解马达蛋白在拥挤的细胞环境中的功能，以及核酸马达在大分子复合体中的作用。这项工作具有很强的跨学科性质，因为这项研究架起了统计物理、理论化学和分子生物物理学的桥梁。教育部分的目的是在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的入门物理课程中增加物理和生物学之间的联系。整合与生物相关的课程材料将帮助学生理解物理在许多领域都很重要，包括生物和医学。第二个教育目标是通过开发生物物理学课程，将生物物理学纳入科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的本科物理课程。物理系目前没有开设生物物理学课程，因此这一目标将加强对科罗拉多大学博尔德分校学生的教育。建议的教育工作将与科罗拉多大学的物理教育研究小组合作进行，以纳入尖端的教育方法和评估。非技术总结这个职业奖项将支持理论生物物理学领域的综合研究和教育计划，得到材料研究部、分子和细胞生物系统部以及数学科学部的跨学科支持。该奖项的研究部分涉及理论生物物理学中的新问题，涉及蛋白质和相关生物分子系统的定向和随机运动。这项研究将在基因表达、DNA复制、DNA修复和细胞分裂等重要生物学问题上得到应用。这将有助于研究分子马达的社区中更广泛的努力，以了解不同的马达蛋白质，并开发理论工具来预测相互作用的蛋白质系统的行为。它还将有助于理解马达蛋白在拥挤的细胞环境中的功能，以及核酸马达在大分子复合体中的作用。这项工作具有很强的跨学科性质，因为这项研究架起了统计物理、理论化学和分子生物物理学的桥梁。教育部分的目的是在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的入门物理课程中增加物理和生物学之间的联系。整合与生物相关的课程材料将帮助学生理解物理在许多领域都很重要，包括生物和医学。第二个教育目标是通过开发生物物理学课程，将生物物理学纳入科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的本科物理课程。物理系目前没有开设生物物理学课程，因此这一目标将加强对科罗拉多大学博尔德分校学生的教育。拟议的教育工作将与科罗拉多大学物理教育研究小组合作开展，以纳入尖端教育方法和评估。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis CAREER award will support an integrated research and education program in the field of theoretical biophysics, with interdisciplinary support from the Division of Materials Research, the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosystems, and the Division of Mathematical Sciences. The research component will address addresses the theory of directed and diffusive protein motion, active gels, and DNA target recognition, with emphasis on incorporating polymer elasticity effects into models of protein motion on DNA and crowding and collective effects in protein motion.The research will have applications in important biological problems such as gene expression, DNA copying, DNA repair, and cell division. It will contribute to the broader effort in the community studying molecular motors to understand diverse motor proteins, and to develop theoretical tools to predict the behavior of systems of interacting proteins. It will also contribute to understanding both the function of motor proteins in crowded cellular environments, and the role of nucleic-acid motors in macromolecular complexes. This work is strongly interdisciplinary, because the research bridges statistical physics, theoretical chemistry, and molecular biophysics.The education component aims to increase the connection between physics and biology in introductory physics courses at CU-Boulder. Integrating biologically relevant course materials will help students understand that physics is important in many fields, including biology and medicine. The second education aim is to integrate biophysics into the undergraduate physics curriculum at CU-Boulder by developing a biophysics course. The physics department does not currently teach a biophysics course, so this aim will enhance the education of students at CU-Boulder. The proposed education work will be carried out in collaboration with the Physics Education Research group at the University of Colorado to incorporate cutting-edge educational methods and assessment.NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThis CAREER award will support an integrated research and education program in the field of theoretical biophysics, with interdisciplinary support from the Division of Materials Research, the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosystems, and the Division of Mathematical Sciences. The research component of this award addresses novel problems in theoretical biophysics involving the directed and random motions of proteins and related biomolecular systems. The research will have applications in important biological problems such as gene expression, DNA copying, DNA repair, and cell division. It will contribute to the broader effort in the community studying molecular motors to understand diverse motor proteins, and to develop theoretical tools to predict the behavior of systems of interacting proteins. It will also contribute to understanding both the function of motor proteins in crowded cellular environments, and the role of nucleic-acid motors in macromolecular complexes. This work is strongly interdisciplinary, because the research bridges statistical physics, theoretical chemistry, and molecular biophysics.The education component aims to increase the connection between physics and biology in introductory physics courses at CU-Boulder. Integrating biologically relevant course materials will help students understand that physics is important in many fields, including biology and medicine. The second education aim is to integrate biophysics into the undergraduate physics curriculum at CU-Boulder by developing a biophysics course. The physics department does not currently teach a biophysics course, so this aim will enhance the education of students at CU-Boulder. The proposed education work will be carried out in collaboration with the Physics Education Research group at the University of Colorado to incorporate cutting-edge educational methods and assessment.