Seminar: Viviana Monje, Ph.D.

Speaker: Viviana Monje, Ph.D., University at Buffalo

Title: FINGERPRINTING BIOMOLECULAR INTERACTIONS AT THE CELL MEMBRANE INTERFACE, PREDICTIONS FROM SIMULATIONS

The Monje Group uses all-atom molecular dynamics to study lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions. Our goals is to determine the role of specific lipid species in cellular processes or mechanisms of disease. We specialize in the development of realistic membrane models that reproduce the physical environment of a given organism or cellular organelle in collaboration with experimental teams or published lipidomics studies. Molecular dynamics simulations, based on statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, allows us to collect large data sets to determine trends in lateral reorganization patterns of membrane lipids upon the interaction with other (bio)molecules at atomistic resolution. I will present our latest findings in systems with a viral protein, an RNA fragment, and small molecules interacting with model membranes. Specifically, the molecular signature that results upon binding and/or insertion of biomolecules onto model membranes and the associated membrane response. These projects contribute to our understanding of the interplay between biomolecules at the cell membrane interface as well as mechanisms of lipid membrane remodeling.