Matthias Buck PhD

Matthias buck's research focuses on protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions in cell signaling and migration in organ development, cancer, Alzheimer's, and macular degeneration. For this, he characterizes protein interactions and seeks to determine how they form the molecular basis of mechanisms in cell signaling. For these studies, he uses a range of structural biology, computational well as biophysics tools, and he also collaborates with cell biologists. The conformation, configuration, as well as fluctuations of protein domains, are important for signal transduction. For example, what protein structural and dynamic features give rise to binding affinity and to the specificity that selects one protein binding partner over others? Our studies will give us insight into the normal functions of the signaling proteins and how they are disrupted in diseased states.

The knowledge gained will also help us in screening for small molecule agents that can be used to manipulate protein-protein interactions (and consequently signaling in cells) in a chemical biology approach. Furthermore, he develops methods that assist in the identification of interactions in protein complexes experimentally and improve their structural representation and characterization by molecular dynamics calculations. Of late his focus has expanded to include the transmembrane helices of receptors and the interaction of membrane-proximal domains with the lipid bilayer. Together with the behavior of the soluble domains, these interactions will explain how signals are transmitted across the cellular membrane.