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CCS Seminar
Friday - April 11, 2008
12:00 noon
Physics Research Building - Room 595
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Professor John Straub
Chemistry Department - Boston University

"Molecular dynamics of proteins: The long and the short of it"

The elucidation of the fundamental principles defining energy transfer 
in proteins
will only be possible through the parallel development of computational 
methods
and theoretical models. A particular focus of our research is the 
development of
increasingly accurate theoretical and computational models of protein 
vibrational
dynamics on the picosecond timescale. We will report on our efforts to gain
insight into the nature of mode specific energy transfer and signaling 
in proteins.

Aggregation of proteins of known sequence is linked to Alzheimer's 
disease and
other neurodegenerative disorders. As a result of evidence suggesting 
that soluble
low molecular weight (LMW) aggregates of amyloidogenic proteins are the
primary cause of neurotoxicity, it has become urgent to understand the 
molecular
mechanisms of formation of LMW oligomers. We will report on our efforts to
probe the early events leading to oligomer formation through the use of 
extended
molecular dynamics simulations.


Cheryl Endicott
Administrative Assistant
Center for Computational Science
3 Cummington Street
Boston, MA 02215
tel: 617-358-1470
fax: 617-358-2487
http://ccs.bu.edu

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