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Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

 

Professor of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics

1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry

Our research

We study the physical and chemical aspects of the behaviour of biopolymers and other soft systems. Much of our work has been focused on the physical aspects underlying the self-assembly of protein molecules. Self-organisation is the driving force generating complex matter in nature, and the process by which the machinery providing functionality in living systems is assembled. The goal of our research is to understand the physical and chemical factors which control the structures and dynamics of biomolecular assemblies, and the connections between the nanoscale characteristics of the component molecules and the physical properties of large-scale assemblies and their behaviour on a mesoscopic to macroscopic scale. The techniques used in our laboratory include biosensors, optical lithography, microfluidic devices and scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy. We work both with natural and synthetic polymers and our interests range from fundamental chemical physics to technological applications in material science and molecular medicine.

Watch Professor Knowles discuss his research

Take a tour of the Sir Rodney Sweetnam laboratory

Publications

Using a stable protein scaffold to display peptides that bind to alpha-synuclein fibrils
S Bismut, M Schneider, M Miyasaki, Y Feng, E Wilde, D Gunawardena, TPJ Knowles, G Kaminski Schierle, L Itzhaki, J Kumita
(2025)
BPS2025 - A mathematical model to quantify tau aggregation rates and determine molecular mechanisms from patient data
G Meisl, S-H Huang, A Quaegebeur, T Rittman, M Cotton, J Rowe, TP Knowles, D Klenerman
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
408a
BPS2025 - Single-molecule investigation of liquid-liquid and liquid-solid phase separation of amyloid proteins
M Sahu, J Wei, VK V, TP Knowles, K Garai
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
411a
BPS2025 - Sequence-encoded molecular grammar governs the formation of synaptic condensates
C Hoffmann, K Ruff, IA Edu, MK Shinn, JV Tromm, A Pant, H Ausserwöger, J Morgan, TP Knowles, RV Pappu, D Milovanovic
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
562a
BPS2025 - Extracellular phase separation mediates the storage and release of thyroglobulin in the thyroid follicular lumen
Y Yao, N Erkamp, T Sneideris, X Yang, R Scrutton, MM Schneider, CM Fischer, E Schoenmakers, N Schoenmakers, T Knowles
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
566a
BPS2025 - Digital seed amplification quantifies the increase in seeding-competent aggregates in Parkinson's patients' CSF
A Levin, S Cai, H Ausserwoeger, G Meisl, D Qian, R Scrutton, IA Edu, G Krainer, T Sneideris, L Chai, W Arter, TP Knowles
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
510a
BPS2025 - Investigating α-synuclein liquid condensates transition to an irreversible aggregated state
IA Edu, A Levin, T Sneideris, CM Fischer, TPJ Knowles
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
79a
BPS2025 - Quantifying temperature-induced changes in protein interactions and phase behavior using high-throughput droplet microfluidics
CM Fischer, H Ausserwöger, T Sneideris, D Qian, R Scrutton, S Qamar, P St George-Hyslop, TP Knowles
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
79a
BPS2025 - Quantifying and predicting antibody non-specificity in the clinical landscape: Microfluidics and machine learning
E de Csillery, H Ausserwöger, M Oeller, I Waibel, R Akbar, A Abrudan, G Krainer, G Invernizzi, P Arosio, N Lorenzen, T Knowles
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
57a
BPS2025 - Extracellular phase separation mediates storage and release of thyroglobulin in the thyroid follicular lumen
Y Yao, N Erkamp, T Sneideris, X Yang, R Scrutton, MM Schneider, CM Fischer, E Schoenmakers, N Schoenmakers, T Knowles
– Biophysical Journal
(2025)
124,
29a
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Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address

tpjk2@cam.ac.uk