Engineering of biological processes from the molecular to
the organismal scale is central to addressing key problems in medicine and
healthcare as well as energy and environmental sustainability. Our department
employs a unique blend of theory, simulations, and experimental techniques for
biomolecular engineering. Fully atomistic and coarse grained molecular
simulations are being developed to derive fundamental insights into protein
interactions underlying disease states, which help identify novel drug and
vaccine targets. Sophisticated single molecule spectroscopic experiments have
been set up to probe rare molecular interactions within living cells, allowing
first-hand observations of events that cause development and disease. Viral
infections that are important globally and nationally, such as HIV, hepatitis
C, and dengue, are an important focus of our efforts. Modelling and simulations
of viral dynamics and evolution coupled with single molecule experiments and
data from patients, obtained in collaboration with clinicians, are being
employed to unravel the origins of the failure of current treatments and to
design more potent and economical therapeutic protocols. Reaction network
theory and experiments on quorum-sensing are being used to understand cellular
signalling events and emergent systems-level properties that viruses and
bacteria manipulate to overcome our immune response, presenting new avenues for
vaccine design. Metabolic engineering of bacteria coupled with optimization and
control techniques for bioreactors is being exploited to produce biofuels and
degrade environmentally harmful effluents and waste. Our efforts thus synergize
a broad spectrum of engineering and design techniques to achieve precise
manipulation of biological phenomena for improved healthcare and sustainable
development.
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