Although biomolecular folding, binding, and assembly are usually conceived of as occurring in bulk aqueous solution, within cells these processes are taking place at interfaces. Examples of these interfaces include surfaces of very large macromolecules such as ribosome tunnel, chaperones, and the cell membrane itself. The interfacial behavior of biomolecules is also crucial in several technological applications such as biosensors, drug delivery, DNA-based nanomaterials, bio-separations, and microarrays. The long-term objective of my research group is to be able to predict the consequences of a dynamic cellular environment on biochemical processes such as protein assembly (liquid-liquid phase separation), protein folding, protein binding, and protein-DNA interactions.

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The ongoing collaboration with several experimental groups provides a unique opportunity to combine our strong expertise in computer modeling and simulation with state-of-the-art experimental techniques.

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We are thankful to the following funding agencies for their generous support of our work: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH) grant R01GM136917, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke & National Institute of Aging grant 5R01NS116176, Division of Materials Research (NSF) grant 2004796, Welch Foundation grant A- 2113-20220331.