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）资助的。该职业奖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靶标识别理论，重点是将聚合物弹性效应纳入DNA蛋白质运动模型以及蛋白质运动中的拥挤和集体效应。这项研究将应用于重要的生物学问题，如基因表达、DNA复制、DNA修复和细胞分裂。这将有助于更广泛的社区努力研究分子马达，以了解不同的运动蛋白，并开发理论工具来预测相互作用的蛋白质系统的行为。这也将有助于理解运动蛋白在拥挤细胞环境中的功能，以及核酸马达在大分子复合物中的作用。这项工作是跨学科的，因为研究跨越了统计物理学、理论化学和分子生物物理学。教育部分的目的是在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的物理入门课程中增加物理学和生物学之间的联系。整合与生物学相关的课程材料将帮助学生理解物理学在许多领域的重要性，包括生物学和医学。第二个教育目标是通过开发生物物理学课程，将生物物理学融入加州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，因此这个目标将提高科罗拉多大学博尔德分校学生的教育水平。拟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，以结合尖端的教育方法和评估。该职业奖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。该奖项的研究部分涉及理论生物物理学中涉及蛋白质和相关生物分子系统的定向和随机运动的新问题。这项研究将应用于重要的生物学问题，如基因表达、DNA复制、DNA修复和细胞分裂。这将有助于更广泛的社区努力研究分子马达，以了解不同的运动蛋白，并开发理论工具来预测相互作用的蛋白质系统的行为。这也将有助于理解运动蛋白在拥挤细胞环境中的功能，以及核酸马达在大分子复合物中的作用。这项工作是跨学科的，因为研究跨越了统计物理学、理论化学和分子生物物理学。教育部分的目的是在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的物理入门课程中增加物理学和生物学之间的联系。整合与生物学相关的课程材料将帮助学生理解物理学在许多领域的重要性，包括生物学和医学。第二个教育目标是通过开发生物物理学课程，将生物物理学融入加州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，因此这个目标将提高科罗拉多大学博尔德分校学生的教育水平。拟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，以结合尖端的教育方法和评估。

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.