Professor of Biophysics

Our research

In the last 15 years our research has been focused on the development of methods of characterising the structure, dynamics and interactions of proteins in previously inaccessible states. These methods are based on the use of experimental data, in particular from nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, as structural restraints in molecular dynamics simulations. Through this approach it is possible to obtain information about a variety of protein conformations, as for example those populated during the folding process, and about protein interactions in complex environments, including those generating aggregate species that are associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Application to neurodegenerative diseases

More recently, these studies have led us to investigate the physico-chemical principles of proteins homeostasis and their application to the development of therapeutic strategies against neurodegenerative diseases. Starting from the observation that proteins are expressed in the cell at levels close to their solubility limits, we are developing approaches to prevent or delay misfolding disorders based on the enhancement of our quality control mechanisms against protein aggregation.

Watch Professor Vendruscolo discuss his research

Take a tour of the Una Finlay Laboratory in the Centre for Misfolding Diseases

Publications

Sequence‐Based Prediction of Protein Behavior
GG Tartaglia, M Vendruscolo
(2013)
Characterization of Free Energy Landscapes of Proteins using NMR Spectroscopy
M Vendruscolo
Biophysical Journal
(2013)
104
Thermodynamics of an Intrinsically Disordered Protein by Atomistic Simulations
D Granata, FB Baghal, C Camilloni, M Vendruscolo, A Laio
Biophysical Journal
(2013)
104
MD simulations of intrinsically disordered proteins with replica-averaged chemical shift restraints
B Fu, C Camilloni, A Cavalli, M Vendruscolo
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
(2013)
42
In Vivo Translation Rates Can Substantially Delay the Co-Translational Folding of the E. Coli Cytosolic Proteome
P Ciryam, RI Morimoto, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson, EP O'Brien
Biophysical Journal
(2013)
104
Structure of a Misfolded Intermediate of a PDZ Domain
A De Simone, S Gianni, M Vendruscolo
Bio-nanoimaging: Protein Misfolding and Aggregation
(2013)
In vivo translation rates can substantially delay the cotranslational folding of the Escherichia coli cytosolic proteome.
P Ciryam, RI Morimoto, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson, EP O'Brien
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
(2012)
110
A rationally designed six-residue swap generates comparability in the aggregation behavior of α-synuclein and β-synuclein.
C Roodveldt, A Andersson, EJ De Genst, A Labrador-Garrido, AK Buell, CM Dobson, GG Tartaglia, M Vendruscolo
Biochemistry
(2012)
51
Twisting Transition between Crystalline and Fibrillar Phases of Aggregated Peptides
TPJ Knowles, A De Simone, AW Fitzpatrick, A Baldwin, S Meehan, L Rajah, M Vendruscolo, ME Welland, CM Dobson, EM Terentjev
Phys Rev Lett
(2012)
109
In support of the BMRB.
JL Markley, H Akutsu, T Asakura, M Baldus, R Boelens, A Bonvin, R Kaptein, A Bax, I Bezsonova, MR Gryk, JC Hoch, DM Korzhnev, MW Maciejewski, D Case, WJ Chazin, TA Cross, S Dames, H Kessler, O Lange, T Madl, B Reif, M Sattler, D Eliezer, A Fersht, J Forman-Kay, LE Kay, J Fraser, J Gross, T Kortemme, A Sali, T Fujiwara, K Gardner, X Luo, J Rizo-Rey, M Rosen, RR Gil, C Ho, G Rule, AM Gronenborn, R Ishima, J Klein-Seetharaman, P Tang, P van der Wel, Y Xu, S Grzesiek, S Hiller, J Seelig, ED Laue, H Mott, D Nietlispach, I Barsukov, L-Y Lian, D Middleton, T Blumenschein, G Moore, I Campbell, J Schnell, IJ Vakonakis, A Watts, MR Conte, J Mason, M Pfuhl, MR Sanderson, J Craven, M Williamson, C Dominguez, G Roberts, U Günther, M Overduin, J Werner, P Williamson, C Blindauer, M Crump, P Driscoll, T Frenkiel, A Golovanov, S Matthews, J Parkinson, D Uhrin, M Williams, D Neuhaus, H Oschkinat, A Ramos, DE Shaw, C Steinbeck, M Vendruscolo, GW Vuister, KJ Walters, H Weinstein, K Wüthrich, S Yokoyama
Nature structural & molecular biology
(2012)
19

Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 763873

Email address