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Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

 

Professor Tuomas Knowles

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

Structural defects in amyloid-β fibrils drive secondary nucleation
J Hu, TJ Scheidt, D Thacker, E Axell, E Stemme, U Lapinska, S Wennmalm, G Meisl, S Curk, M Andreasen, M Vendruscolo, P Arosio, A Saric, J Schmit, T Knowles, E Sparr, S Linse, TCT Michaels, AJ Dear
(2025)
(doi: 10.1101/2025.03.31.646415)
Learning the rules of peptide self-assembly through data mining with large language models
Z Yang, SK Yorke, TPJ Knowles, MJ Buehler
– Science Advances
(2025)
11,
eadv1971
(doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adv1971)
Kinetics of seeded protein aggregation: theory and application
AJ Dear, G Meisl, J Hu, TPJ Knowles, S Linse
(2025)
(doi: 10.48550/arxiv.2503.20941)
ANXA11 biomolecular condensates facilitate protein-lipid phase coupling on lysosomal membranes
J Nixon-Abell, FS Ruggeri, S Qamar, TW Herling, MA Czekalska, Y Shen, G Wang, C King, MS Fernandopulle, T Sneideris, JL Watson, VVS Pillai, W Meadows, JW Henderson, JE Chambers, JL Wagstaff, SH Williams, H Coyle, G Šneiderienė, Y Lu, S Zhang, SJ Marciniak, SMV Freund, E Derivery, ME Ward, M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles, P St George-Hyslop
– Nature Communications
(2025)
16,
2814
(doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58142-5)
ANXA11 biomolecular condensates facilitate protein-lipid phase coupling on lysosomal membranes
J Nixon-Abell, FS Ruggeri, S Qamar, TW Herling, MA Czekalska, Y Shen, G Wang, C King, MS Fernandopulle, T Sneideris, JL Watson, VVS Pillai, W Meadows, JW Henderson, JE Chambers, JL Wagstaff, SH Williams, H Coyle, G Šneiderienė, Y Lu, S Zhang, SJ Marciniak, SMV Freund, E Derivery, ME Ward, M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles, P St George-Hyslop
– Nature Communications
(2025)
16,
2814
(doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58142-5)
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, TPJ Knowles
– Communications biology
(2025)
8,
466
(doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-07909-z)
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, TPJ Knowles
– Communications Biology
(2025)
8,
466
(doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-07909-z)
Ganglioside lipids inhibit the aggregation of the Alzheimer's amyloid-β peptide
Z Toprakcioglu, AK Jayaram, TPJ Knowles
– RSC Chemical Biology
(2025)
6,
809
(doi: 10.1039/d4cb00189c)
Synapsin Condensation is Governed by Sequence-Encoded Molecular Grammars
C Hoffmann, KM Ruff, IA Edu, MK Shinn, JV Tromm, MR King, A Pant, H Ausserwöger, JR Morgan, TPJ Knowles, RV Pappu, D Milovanovic
– Journal of molecular biology
(2025)
437,
168987
(doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2025.168987)
Kinetics of Amyloid Oligomer Formation.
J Wei, G Meisl, AJ Dear, TCT Michaels, TPJ Knowles
– Annual review of biophysics
(2025)
54,
185
(doi: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-080124-122953)
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Research Groups

Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address

tpjk2@cam.ac.uk

College

St John's College

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    About the University

    Research at Cambridge