In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division and the Molecular Biophysics Program of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Division in the Biology Directorate, Prof. Dongping Zhong of Ohio State University and his graduate research students will probe the hydration dynamics around proteins to learn how surface water motions influence protein dynamics. They will do this using femtosecond spectroscopic measurements of tryptophan probes. These studies should provide scientists with clues to how the water surrounding biomolecules influences a variety of important behaviors, from folding and aggregation to molecular recognition and catalysis.
Besides the broad impact of the research on an active interdisciplinary field, Prof. Zhong will provide his students - both in his research group and in his courses - with valuable exposure to frontier areas of biophysical science.
