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Gregory A. Voth

Distinguished Professor of Chemistry

B.S. University of Kansas

Ph.D. California Institute of Technology

Research

References

voth@chemistry.utah.edu

Greg Voth's Lab Page

Greg Voth's PubMed Literature Search

Research

The research in the Voth group involves theoretical and computer simulation studies of biomolecular systems. A primary goal of this effort is the development and application of new computational methodologies to explain and predict the behavior of complex biomolecular systems. Such methods are developed, for example, to probe phenomena such as protein-protein self-assembly, membrane nano-domain formation (lipid "rafts"), membrane-protein interactions, and biomolecular charge transport. Specific examples of research projects include:

Multiscale Theory and Simulation: The Voth group is a leader in the development of powerful multiscale theory and computational methods for complex biomolecular systems. These multiscale methods include systematic coarse-graining approaches, mesoscopic modeling, and multiscale bridging between all of the relevant scales.

Our multiscale methods are being applied to filaments (such as actin, shown in Fig. 1), microtubules, biological membranes and membrane proteins, nucleic acids, peptide aggregation and self-assembly, carbohydrates, and viral capsids.

Membranes and Membrane Proteins: One of the most important problems in all of biophysics is the complex interplay between the "fluid mosaic" of the biological membrane, membranes domains (aka "rafts") that are rich in several membrane components, and membrane proteins (e.g., ion channels or receptors). Membranes bind with proteins that have a specific purpose, such as for membrane remodeling (e.g., to assist the budding of vesicles). As one example, the Voth group has developed and applied a comprehensive multiscale approach to describe the complex and interesting process of membrane remodeling that invloves proteins having N-BAR domains, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Proton Translocation Dynamics in Biomolecular Systems: The Voth group has developed a unique and powerful simulation methodology to describe proton transport phenomena in biomolecular systems, including proton pumps such as cytochrome c oxidase, the M2 proton channel of the influenza A virus (seen in Fig. 3 below with the anti-flu drug amantadine blocking the channel near its top), wild-type aquaporin channels and novel proton conducting aquaporin mutants, Na+/H+ and Cl-/H+ antiporters, and enzymes such as carbonic anhydrase. A critical aspect of the computational study of these problems is our ability to include the explicit process of proton shuttling through chains of water molecules and protein amino acids in the simulations.

 

References