A Rensselaer researcher has been awarded a five-year, $947,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study how proteins behave under pressure. Angel Garcia, senior constellation chaired professor in biocomputation and bioinformatics, seeks to address gaps in scientific knowledge regarding the role of water pressure in protein structure and function that could aid in the understanding and treatment of disease.

“A better understanding of protein function is the key to unlocking mysteries about how disease occurs and spreads throughout the human body,” says Garcia. “Significant recent advances in computing technology are now allowing us to create highly detailed visual simulations of proteins and how these proteins react to changes in their environment. This information helps us then model and predict how a protein will respond to particular situations inside the cell.” 

Garcia’s research involves creating molecular simulations of protein behavior through computations on the folding and unfolding of specific proteins. Understanding a specific protein’s folding structure helps to identify its biological function, and therefore its role in disease.

“Professor Garcia’s seminal research on protein folding is critical to understanding the growing number of diseases that have been linked to problems in protein folding,” says Omkaram “Om” Nalamasu, vice president for research at Rensselaer. “His work is an example of ongoing research at Rensselaer that seeks a molecular-level understanding of biomaterials for medical and health applications.” 

As chair of the Biocomputation and Bioinformatics Constellation at Rensselaer, Garcia is leading researchers focused on developing new computing tools to analyze complex biological data, make predictions that guide experimental work, and offer powerful new methods to predict molecular structure and understand the complex behavior of living organisms. 

Garcia joined Rensselaer in January 2005 to lead the newly developed Biocomputation and Bioinformatics Constellation as part of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. He is internationally known for his research on mathematical modeling and computational analysis of problems in cellular and molecular biology. He will receive the 2006 Edward A. Bouchet Award from the American Physical Society (APS) at the 2006 APS March Meeting in Baltimore, Md., for his contributions to the understanding of the role of water in the dynamics and folding of proteins through computer simulations.

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Published February 27, 2006