Biological Nano-Machines in Jörg Pieper's inaugural lecture
08.04.2011
The next lecture in the University of Tartu’s Inaugural Lectures Series will be given by Jörg Pieper, UT Professor of Biological Physics. Prof. Pieper’s lecture, the seventh in the series, is entitled "Protein Dynamics Regulates the Function of Biological Nano-Machines" and will be held on Friday, 15 April at 4:15 pm in the White Hall of the University History Museum.
Proteins function as "biological nano-machines" which have been highly optimised during evolution and can thus serve as role models for current technical challenges such as efficient harvesting of solar energy or the production of hydrogen as an environmentally friendly fuel. It is well known that the structure of proteins is well adapted to their biological functions. In addition, however, functional processes in proteins require specific dynamical properties represented by characteristic harmonic vibrational motions and/or anharmonic structural fluctuations on the picosecond time scale. Therefore, detailed knowledge about the dynamical properties of a protein is essential for understanding the relationships between its structure, dynamics and functions at the atomic level.
Protein dynamics and dynamics-function correlations are investigated by a combination of optical spectroscopy and quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) or directly using a novel laser-neutron pump-probe approach. Two different examples from photosynthesis research will be discussed in more detail: a) light harvesting and excitation energy transfer in the photosynthetic antenna complex LHC II and b) electron transfer in the oxygen evolving complex photosystem II (PS II).
Professor Jörg Pieper received his Ph.D. in biological and condensed matter physics from Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany) in 2000. His thesis on energy level structure and electron-phonon-coupling of the light harvesting complex II of green plants was supervised by Professor Joachim Voigt.
Jörg Piepers continued his research in cooperation with the group of Professor Gerald J. Small and Dr. Ryszard Jankowiak including two research visits at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa (USA), where he applied hole-burning spectroscopy to photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes of green plants. In 2000, he joined the Hahn-Meitner Institute in Berlin to study protein dynamics and structure-dynamics-function relationships in proteins using quasi-elastic neutron scattering partly combined with laser excitation in a novel laser-neutron pump-probe experiment. From 2005 to 2010 Dr. Pieper was a researcher at Max Volmer laboratory of the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. In 2010 he was appointed as Professor of Biological Physics at the University of Tartu.
His research interests include the study of excitation energy transfer processes and electron-phonon coupling in photosynthesis using low-temperature site-selective and hole-burning spectroscopy as well as the functional significance of protein dynamics at physiological temperatures as revealed by neutron scattering.
Jörg Pieper's professorship at the University of Tartu is supported by the European Social Fund through the DoRa Program Action 2. The aim of the doctoral studies and internationalization program DoRa 2 is to improve the quality of higher education by recruiting academic staff from abroad.
Ivar-Igor Saarniit
University of Tartu Academic Secretary
Additional information: Ms. Kady Sõstar, UT Public Relations Specialist, Phone: +372 737 5685, E-mail: kady [dot] sostar [ät] ut [dot] ee%20" target="_new">kady [dot] sostar [ät] ut [dot] ee
Proteins function as "biological nano-machines" which have been highly optimised during evolution and can thus serve as role models for current technical challenges such as efficient harvesting of solar energy or the production of hydrogen as an environmentally friendly fuel. It is well known that the structure of proteins is well adapted to their biological functions. In addition, however, functional processes in proteins require specific dynamical properties represented by characteristic harmonic vibrational motions and/or anharmonic structural fluctuations on the picosecond time scale. Therefore, detailed knowledge about the dynamical properties of a protein is essential for understanding the relationships between its structure, dynamics and functions at the atomic level.
Protein dynamics and dynamics-function correlations are investigated by a combination of optical spectroscopy and quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) or directly using a novel laser-neutron pump-probe approach. Two different examples from photosynthesis research will be discussed in more detail: a) light harvesting and excitation energy transfer in the photosynthetic antenna complex LHC II and b) electron transfer in the oxygen evolving complex photosystem II (PS II).
Professor Jörg Pieper received his Ph.D. in biological and condensed matter physics from Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany) in 2000. His thesis on energy level structure and electron-phonon-coupling of the light harvesting complex II of green plants was supervised by Professor Joachim Voigt.
Jörg Piepers continued his research in cooperation with the group of Professor Gerald J. Small and Dr. Ryszard Jankowiak including two research visits at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa (USA), where he applied hole-burning spectroscopy to photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes of green plants. In 2000, he joined the Hahn-Meitner Institute in Berlin to study protein dynamics and structure-dynamics-function relationships in proteins using quasi-elastic neutron scattering partly combined with laser excitation in a novel laser-neutron pump-probe experiment. From 2005 to 2010 Dr. Pieper was a researcher at Max Volmer laboratory of the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. In 2010 he was appointed as Professor of Biological Physics at the University of Tartu.
His research interests include the study of excitation energy transfer processes and electron-phonon coupling in photosynthesis using low-temperature site-selective and hole-burning spectroscopy as well as the functional significance of protein dynamics at physiological temperatures as revealed by neutron scattering.
Jörg Pieper's professorship at the University of Tartu is supported by the European Social Fund through the DoRa Program Action 2. The aim of the doctoral studies and internationalization program DoRa 2 is to improve the quality of higher education by recruiting academic staff from abroad.
Ivar-Igor Saarniit
University of Tartu Academic Secretary
Additional information: Ms. Kady Sõstar, UT Public Relations Specialist, Phone: +372 737 5685, E-mail: kady [dot] sostar [ät] ut [dot] ee%20" target="_new">kady [dot] sostar [ät] ut [dot] ee