Research
My research involves the physico-chemical mechanisms of reception, storage and processing of photic energy and information in biology, biomimetic systems and energy converting materials. To this end, I employ and further develop advanced time-resolved spectroscopic techniques such as transient absorption, time-resolved IR, 2-dimensional IR, stimulated Raman and multi-pulse spectroscopy.
I have developed a research program to understand the dynamic-structural basis of signal transduction at the molecular level, from initiation by a flash of light to propagation of information-encoding structural changes in the signaling proteins. I have focused on newly discovered photoreceptor proteins with a high potential for practical applications. An important objective is to arrive at a dynamic structural-mechanistic view of photoreceptor activation that can be utilized in developing optogenetic switches and sensors, to be used in cell biology, neuroscience and tissue imaging.
A major research line involves regulatory phenomena in photosynthetic light harvesting. To this end, I investigate natural and artificial light-harvesting and photoprotective systems, by which carotenoids and Chl or Chl mimics, or electron acceptors such as fullerenes, are covalently or noncovalently linked in well-defined geometries. In essence, the scientific questions condense to a molecular understanding of controlled energy and electron transfer flows in confined geometries of tetrapyrroles and carotenoids, and the role played by symmetry-forbidden excited states and intra- and intermolecular charge-transfer states.
To ensure a broad, multidisciplinary approach to the key biological and biophysical questions of the photoactive systems of interest, I have set up and cultivated a wide network of contacts and collaborations with molecular biologists, microbiologists, biochemists, organic chemists, structural biologists, theoreticians and other biophysicists
