Our research focuses on the dynamics of intra- and intermolecular interactions of proteins. It aims on the visualization of structural alterations in the course of enzymatic activity, transmembrane transport and regulation in vitro and in vivo.
The group is currently organised in two teams with their own research topics:
Bio energetic pathways are of key importance for pathogenic bacteria, both in vitro and during infection in the host. A group headed by Dr. D. Bald has significantly contributed to the view that energy metabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be exploited as effective target pathway for new antibiotics.
Research in this group aims at both the fundamental understanding of bioenergetics in these pathogenes and at discovery and characterisation of new drugs and their targets.
A group headed by Dr. Y. Bollen examines several aspects of protein transport processes, mainly by time lapsed fluorescent microscopy. An example is Twin Arginine Transport (Tat): this system has the unique capability to transport folded or even multimeric proteins across biological membranes.
The final goal is to understand the working of this unique system and to exploit it as a potential target for new antibiotics.