Functional and functionalized membranes

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During the past Discovery funding periods, our lab has established a successful, productive, and nationally, and internationally recognized research program in biological physics. We run an effective training program for HQP on all levels. Our goal is to train a minimum of 2 high school, 36 undergraduate, 3 Master's, and 4 PhD students during the next funding period. Students will develop soft skills, such as project management, analytical, presentation and communication skills, and learn to work in wet and dry lab, to use state-of-the-art research equipment, and develop computational skills. This skillset of hands-on problem solving, and analytical skills will prepare them for graduate and professional schools, and a variety of professional careers. Our long-term objective is to contribute to the understanding of cell membranes from a lipid perspective using experiments and computer simulations. Using our new, physiologically relevant red blood cell (RBC) based membrane assay, we will better understand membrane properties, their interaction with small molecules, drugs, peptides and proteins, and relevant processes in cell membranes that can be related to neurogenerative and infectious diseases - this is the "Functional Membranes" aspect of the proposal. We will use this knowledge and our expertise in manipulating membranes to fabricate membranes with specific properties for applications, such as bacteria and virus sensing, and drug delivery - in the "Functionalized Membranes" aspect of this project. We will investigate antiviral and antibiotic properties of our erythroliposomes by embedding antibodies and encapsulating antibiotics. Our goal is to fully develop and exploit our RBC membrane assay as a physiologically relevant in-vitro membrane model. We will study the organization of nucleotides and RNA and DNA fragments in contact with biological surfaces, clays and inorganic salts to investigate if RNA-polymers can form under prebiotic conditions, in the absence of proteins or enzymes. This research will be conducted in the new Origins of Life Laboratory. We will use the Planet Simulator to create different early-Earth and early planetary environments, including thermal and hydration cycling, to test the hypothesis if protocells can have formed in warm little ponds. I strongly believe that equity and diversity enhance research productivity. Out of the different equity deserving groups, a major goal of this research program is to increase the number of female students in physics. My lab already trains a relatively large percentage (65%) of female students. We will further improve our efforts by (1) providing an inclusive, respectful and harassment free environment, by (2) creating successful female role models, and (3) a smart recruitment strategy by attracting students from the large pool of female students interested in biology and health-related topics. Social media will be used for recruitment to reach out in an unbiased way.