Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms
In the general excitement of a time when three-dimensional protein structures of whole genomes are being determined automatically, it is often forgotten that a structure in itself does not tell one how the molecule works or folds.
For that, one needs to know a great deal about mechanism, intermediates, structural dynamics and molecular interactions. We gather this information using a wide range of biochemical and biophysical techniques, including molecular biology, transient kinetics and crystallography, mass spectrometry, and computation, to understand the "jigglings and wigglings of atoms" in model systems. We study mRNA processing, chaperone-assisted and unassisted protein folding, and reactions that make use of flavin or heme cofactors. In addition, we are part of the Advanced Study Group of the Max Planck Society at CFEL and are using Free Electron Laser radiation for coherent diffractive imaging of biological samples, e.g. viruses.
