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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

Kinetic models reveal the interplay of protein production and aggregation.
J Wei, G Meisl, A Dear, M Oosterhuis, R Melki, C Emanuelsson, S Linse, TPJ Knowles
– Chemical Science
(2024)
15,
8430
Pharmacological inhibition of α-synuclein aggregation within liquid condensates.
ST Dada, Z Toprakcioglu, MP Cali, A Röntgen, MC Hardenberg, OM Morris, LK Mrugalla, TPJ Knowles, M Vendruscolo
– Nature communications
(2024)
15,
3835
Maximum entropy determination of mammalian proteome dynamics
AJ Dear, GA Garcia, G Meisl, GA Collins, TPJ Knowles, AL Goldberg
– Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
(2024)
121,
e2313107121
Molecular mechanism of α-synuclein aggregation on lipid membranes revealed
AJ Dear, X Teng, SR Ball, J Lewin, RI Horne, D Clow, A Stevenson, N Harper, K Yahya, X Yang, SC Brewerton, J Thomson, TCT Michaels, S Linse, TPJ Knowles, J Habchi, G Meisl
– Chemical science
(2024)
15,
7229
Tandem-repeat proteins introduce tuneable properties to engineered biomolecular condensates
TL Chris Ng, M Hoare, J Maristany, E Wilde, T Sneideris, J Huertas, B Agbetiameh, M Furukawa, J Joseph, TPJ Knowles, R Collepardo-Guevara, L Itzhaki, J Kumita
(2024)
Discovery of potent inhibitors of α-synuclein aggregation using structure-based iterative learning.
RI Horne, EA Andrzejewska, P Alam, ZF Brotzakis, A Srivastava, A Aubert, M Nowinska, RC Gregory, R Staats, A Possenti, S Chia, P Sormanni, B Ghetti, B Caughey, TPJ Knowles, M Vendruscolo
– Nature chemical biology
(2024)
20,
634
Selenium-silk microgels as antifungal and antibacterial agents †
EG Wiita, Z Toprakcioglu, AK Jayaram, TPJ Knowles
– Nanoscale Horiz
(2024)
9,
609
Abstract 4891: Discovery of novel biomolecular condensate drug targets in oncology using in silico predictive tools
KL Saar, M Rebmann, M Kanchwala, S Qamar, P Radhakrishnan, J Cornish, J Doh, J Cattin, A Rotem, M Ghandi, A Seeber, RC Centore, SA Teichmann, T Knowles, S Arora
– Cancer Research
(2024)
84,
4891
Abstract 1657: Microfluidics-based screening platform identifies a novel therapeutic approach to targeting EML4-ALK driven cancers
RC Centore, M Watson, J Doh, J Cattin, C Sgambato, A Alex, J Sawant, P Radhakrishnan, J Cornish, A Howarth, N Bharatham, WE Arter, S Qamar, KL Saar, D Williamson, A Seeber, N Groenewegen, M Czekalska, T Kartanas, N Ermann, A Taher, T Knowles, S Arora
– Cancer Research
(2024)
84,
1657
Abstract 3231: Pharmacological inhibition of the m6A RNA reader, YTHDC1, as a novel approach to targeting biomolecular condensates in cancer
RC Centore, M Charles, M Arora, Y Chen, M Watson, C Kelley, M Czekalska, M Rebmann, M Ghandi, J Cattin, N Bharatham, P Radhakrishnan, A Howarth, G Rudlaff, WE Arter, S Qamar, K Saar, D Williamson, A Seeber, T Knowles, S Arora
– Cancer Research
(2024)
84,
3231
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Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address

tpjk2@cam.ac.uk