In this award, supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. John T. Gerig of the University of California, Santa Barbara will conduct research with his student and postdoctoral colleagues, studying the interactions of small molecules with peptides, and the ways in which these small molecules drive conformational changes in the peptides. The research will be carried out through nuclear magnetic resonance measurement of intermolecular NOE signals, coupled with molecular dynamics simulations. Ultimately, the data garnered in these studies may fing applications towards extending the shelf-life of peptide based drugs (e.g. insulin) and in industrial processes that employ enzymes.
Besides the broader scientific impact of the research, the research will result in the training student and post-doctoral researchers in a combined experimental and theoretical research program. Results of the research will be made available to the public on a website.
