Supported by the EAN Conference Grant, we attended the 11th European Academy of Neurology Annual Congress in Helsinki to present our research on the structural dynamics of central nervous system transporters. Our first presentation mapped the specific cross-reactivity between the glial excitatory amino acid transporter 1 (EAAT1) and truncated EAAT2 isoforms. We defined the mechanisms by which these truncated isoforms function as selective interface blockers, expanding the und

How do immune receptors adapt to function in entirely different physical spaces? Toll-like Receptor 5 plays a crucial role in recognizing bacterial pathogens, typically operating as a membrane-bound sentinel. However, certain teleost fish, such as the orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides), possess an intriguing evolutionary workaround. They express both traditional membrane-bound forms and uniquely soluble forms of this receptor. We released a study detailing a compar

We have attended the 2025 European Human Genetics Conference (ESHG) in Milan, Italy, to share our approaches to studying Hemophilia B. The ESHG annual meeting is one of the most significant global gatherings for human genetics and genomics, making it an ideal venue to discuss our specific investigations into Coagulation Factor 9. These projects represent a collaborative effort at University College London (UCL), we gave two presentations detailing different analytical perspec

How exactly do we perceive scent at the molecular level? Despite being one of our most fundamental senses, the mechanics of olfaction remain largely a mystery. The main obstacle is that olfactory receptors are locked tight inside cell membranes, making them notoriously difficult to isolate and study in a laboratory setting. In our recent structural bioinformatic study published in QRB Discovery, we addressed this challenge directly by engineering these vital proteins to exist

We received two separate International Fellowship grants from TÜBİTAK, the national scientific council of Türkiye, during the KSBNS Annual Meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea in 2024. These awards are highly competitive and recognize researchers who bring impactful scientific findings to the global community. The work focused on the regulatory architecture of glutamate transporters. We presented research on truncated isoforms, showing how these shorter protein variants act as in

In 2024, our team published a comprehensive study in Pharmaceutical Research detailing the inhibitory effects of truncated isoforms on glutamate transporter oligomerization. This research investigates how alternative mRNA splicing generates shortened protein variants that function as intrinsic negative regulators within the central nervous system. Glutamate transporters are essential for maintaining proper neurotransmitter balance, and their physiological activity relies on s

Our foundational research on the structural bioinformatics of glutamate and monoamine transporters established the core methodology we use to bypass the membrane barrier. These publications detail the application of the QTY code to engineer water soluble variants of these critical neurotransmitter transporters. By systematically replacing hydrophobic amino acids with structurally similar hydrophilic residues, we demonstrated that the proteins can become soluble while preservi

https://communities.springernature.com/videos/directional-variant-tension-tv-decoding-hidden-constraints-in-protein-adaptation Standard models assume mutations flow equally in both directions. In reality, proteins face strict structural bottlenecks. Discover how Directional Variant Tension (T v) exposes these hidden constraints to resolve the pathogenicity paradox and accelerate protein engineering.

In astronomy, the Goldilocks Zone is that perfect, habitable distance from a star: not too hot, not too cold, but just right for life to exist. In our latest research, we discovered that proteins have a Biophysical Goldilocks Zone too, and it changes how we understand disease mechanisms. For years, we assumed that if a part of a protein was evolutionarily conserved, it had to be a stable, immovable anchor. But this binary view misses the most sophisticated machinery of the ce

If you've ever used a conservation score to interpret a missense variant, you've quietly accepted a tradeoff: traditional conservation metrics treat every residue the same way, regardless of whether it sits in a rigid hydrophobic core or a flexible loop that moves through nanometers of space during catalysis. That's a problem. Because those two kinds of residues fail for completely different biophysical reasons when you mutate them, and modern pathogenicity predictors, can bl

Following our widely explored repository “ 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 ” and its pre-print, we’re introducing a workflow designed for Google Colab and HPC/Jupyter systems (environments without a GUI) to run GMX_MMPBSA ( 𝙈𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙈𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙣–𝘽𝙤𝙡𝙩𝙯𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙣 𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙚𝙖 )! Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations help us see how biological molecules behave in motion, revealing mechanisms behind

In the world of membrane proteins, truncated isoforms have long been treated as evolutionary leftovers - partial gene products that don’t quite “make the cut”. In many studies, they are filtered out of analyses as unstable, nonfunctional, or even nuisances. We too once viewed them this way. For this interesting behind the paper story, you can check our article in Springer Nature: https://go.nature.com/483kVvV

To check our interesting behind the paper story, please visit: https://go.nature.com/3KnbhdB

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During my long stay in London, I discovered a thriving science scene that might not be immediately apparent to everyone. This city, known for its rich history and vibrant culture, also offers a wealth of opportunities for scientific exploration and intellectual growth. The city's scientific institutions and events play a crucial role in promoting a culture where curiosity, inquiry, and free thinking are cherished. One of my first stops was the Royal Society, a place steeped i

New Update: This project is now accompanied by a published paper on bioRxiv, which benchmarks molecular dynamics simulations across various cloud platforms, with a special focus on optimizing Google Colab for scientific computing: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.14.623563v1 Update: This post has reached more than 700 views! Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a powerful computational tool used in various fields of science, including chemistry, biology, and

Are you a researcher working with protein sequences? If so, you know the importance of accurately studying the effects of missense...

The term "mutation" was used for either a generic alteration or, more specifically, a change with disease implications. Also, the term "polymorphism" was used to explain those genetic alterations occurring at a frequency of 1% or higher. However, this dual usage has led to confusion and misinterpretation across various disciplines. To solve this problem, a shift away from the terms "mutation" and "polymorphism" has been adopted. Instead, a preference is given to using neutr