Structural investigation of membrane and water-soluble proteins

The portfolio of this BAG includes structural investigation of membrane proteins as well as soluble proteins relevant to various scientific fields. Important basic science projects are concerned with the fundamentals of proton transport and the function of hitherto poorly characterised rhodopsins. In application-related activities we are addressing challenges in biotechnology (development of novel optogenetic tools, optimisation of enzymes for biomimetic synthesis) and medicine (evaluation of innovative autophagy modulators, understanding and preventing protein aggregation in disease).

本BAG的研究范畴涵盖膜蛋白与各科学领域相关可溶性蛋白的结构解析研究。核心基础科学项目聚焦于质子转运的基本原理，以及迄今尚未被充分表征的视紫红质（rhodopsins）的功能特性。在应用导向的研究工作中，我们针对生物技术与医学领域的挑战展开攻关：生物技术方向包括开发新型光遗传工具（optogenetic tools）、优化用于仿生合成的酶类；医学方向则涵盖创新性自噬调节剂（autophagy modulators）的评估，以及对疾病中蛋白质聚集（protein aggregation）现象的解析与预防。