Computational Biology and Biophysics

With the recent successful completion of the Human Genome Project and related attempts to determine whole genomes it has become obvious that the obtained wealth of data needs to be matched by information on the structure and function of the huge number of proteins encoded in the various genomes (“proteomics”). As proteins are only functional if they assume specific shapes, it is important to explore how these structures emerge from a protein’s chemical composition (the sequence of amino acids as specified in the genome). Such knowledge could not only lead to the rational design of novel drugs, but also to a deeper understanding of various diseases that are caused by misfolding of proteins, and enable simulation of disease pathways to predict the best target for treatment.