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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

The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator Controls Tolerogenic Responses to Food Allergens in Mice and Humans
M Emmenegger, C Zografou, Y Dai, L Hoyt, R Gudneppanavar, A Chincisan, H Rehrauer, F Noé, N Zajac, G Meisl, M Schneider, H Nguyen, K Höpker, T Knowles, M Sospedra, R Martin, A Ring, S Leeds, S Eisenbarth, M Egan, E Bruscia, A Aguzzi
(2024)
Electrolyte‐gated organic field‐effect transistors with high operational stability and lifetime in practical electrolytes
D Simatos, M Nikolka, J Charmet, LJ Spalek, Z Toprakcioglu, IE Jacobs, IB Dimov, G Schweicher, MJ Lee, CM Fernández‐Posada, DJ Howe, TA Hakala, LWY Roode, V Pecunia, TP Sharp, W Zhang, M Alsufyani, I McCulloch, TPJ Knowles, H Sirringhaus
– SmartMat
(2024)
5,
e1291
Electrolyte‐gated organic field‐effect transistors with high operational stability and lifetime in practical electrolytes
D Simatos, M Nikolka, J Charmet, LJ Spalek, Z Toprakcioglu, IE Jacobs, IB Dimov, G Schweicher, MJ Lee, CM Fernández-Posada, DJ Howe, TA Hakala, LWY Roode, V Pecunia, TP Sharp, W Zhang, M Alsufyani, I McCulloch, TPJ Knowles, H Sirringhaus
– SmartMat
(2024)
5,
The role of shear forces in primary and secondary nucleation of amyloid fibrils
E Axell, J Hu, M Lindberg, AJ Dear, L Ortigosa-Pascual, EA Andrzejewska, G Šneiderienė, D Thacker, TPJ Knowles, E Sparr, S Linse
– Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
(2024)
121,
e2322572121
Biomolecular condensates with complex architectures via controlled nucleation
NA Erkamp, MAM Verwiel, D Qian, T Sneideris, FA Spaepen, DA Weitz, JCM van Hest, TPJ Knowles
– Nature Chemical Engineering
(2024)
1,
430
Aβ Oligomer Dissociation Is Catalyzed by Fibril Surfaces
A Dear, D Thacker, S Wennmalm, L Ortigosa-Pascual, EA Andrzejewska, G Meisl, S Linse, T Knowles
– ACS Chemical Neuroscience
(2024)
15,
2296
Biomolecular condensates sustain pH gradients at equilibrium driven by charge neutralisation
H Ausserwöger, R Scrutton, T Sneideris, C Fischer, D Qian, E de Csilléry, K Saar, A Białek, M Oeller, G Krainer, T Franzmann, S Wittmann, J Iglesias-Artola, G Invernizzi, A Hyman, S Alberti, N Lorenzen, T Knowles
(2024)
Solutes unmask differences in clustering versus phase separation of FET proteins
M Kar, LT Vogel, G Chauhan, S Felekyan, H Ausserwöger, TJ Welsh, F Dar, AR Kamath, TPJ Knowles, AA Hyman, CAM Seidel, RV Pappu
– Nat Commun
(2024)
15,
4408
An evolutionarily conserved mechanism controls reversible amyloids of pyruvate kinase via pH-sensing regions
G Cereghetti, VM Kissling, LM Koch, A Arm, CC Schmidt, Y Thüringer, N Zamboni, P Afanasyev, M Linsenmeier, C Eichmann, S Kroschwald, J Zhou, Y Cao, DM Pfizenmaier, T Wiegand, R Cadalbert, G Gupta, D Boehringer, TPJ Knowles, R Mezzenga, P Arosio, R Riek, M Peter
– Dev Cell
(2024)
59,
1876
Polysaccharide functionalization reduces lipid vesicle stiffness.
K Jahnke, M Pavlovic, W Xu, A Chen, TPJ Knowles, LR Arriaga, DA Weitz
– Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
(2024)
121,
e2317227121
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Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address

tpjk2@cam.ac.uk