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Piotr E. Marszalek

Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
3387 Fciemas Building, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708-0300
3387 Fciemas Building, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


My research focuses on investigating relationships between structural and mechanical properties of biopolymers (polysaccharides, DNA, proteins), which I study at a single molecule level. My main approaches are experimental scanning probe microscopy techniques and computational methods involving Molecular Dynamics simulations and ab initio quantum mechanical calculations. The ultimate goal of this research is to understand the above-mentioned relationships at an atomic level and to apply the …

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 2009 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering

In the News


Published January 17, 2020
Learning How Molecules Function by Stretching and Tearing Them Apart

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Recent Publications


Tandem repeats of highly bioluminescent NanoLuc are refolded noncanonically by the Hsp70 machinery.

Journal Article Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · February 2024 Chaperones are a large family of proteins crucial for maintaining cellular protein homeostasis. One such chaperone is the 70 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70), which plays a crucial role in protein (re)folding, stability, functionality, and translocation. Whi ... Full text Cite

Ligand-Mediated Mechanical Enhancement in Protein Complexes at Nano- and Macro-Scale.

Journal Article ACS applied materials & interfaces · January 2024 Protein self-assembly plays a vital role in a myriad of biological functions and in the construction of biomaterials. Although the physical association underlying these assemblies offers high specificity, the advantage often compromises the overall durabil ... Full text Cite

Special Issue: 18th Congress of the Polish Biophysical Society.

Journal Article European biophysics journal : EBJ · October 2023 The 18th Congress of the Polish Biophysical Society took place at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2022. In total, 111 attendees (Attendance Profile: 107 in-person, 4 remote; Italy 1, Lithuania 1, Poland 10 ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


University Training Program in Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1994 - 2027

Transition to Excellence: From Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy to Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2021 - 2025

EAGER: Exploring the Quantum-Mechanical Basis of Odorant Detection by Olfactory Receptors

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2021 - 2024

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Education, Training & Certifications


Electrotechnical Institute (Poland) · 1991 Ph.D.
University of Warsaw (Poland) · 1985 M.S.

External Links


Marszalek Lab