Research

Our group focuses on Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Spectroscopy and membrane transport(er) biophysics.

We investigate the functional mechanism of membrane-embedded heterooligomeric macromolecular protein complexes under in vitro and in situ environments. We characterize the structural transitions, conformational equilibria, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters to understand the mechanistic basis of their function. Further, we develop new approaches to perform such experiments in the native membrane and cellular environments. To achieve these goals, we employ a highly interdisciplinary approach involving recombinant membrane protein expression and purification, biochemical/biophysical characterization, and electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR) techniques combined with structural modeling.

Our research is funded through the DFG Emmy Noether Program and the Collaborative Research Center 1507.