We are a multidisciplinary group focused on developing a new paradigm for coiled-coil protein materials design that cycles between computation and experimentation. This will enable the rapid iteration for controlling fiber assembly and the identification of rules for coiled-coil fiber and nanocomposite design. Our main objectives are to: 1) predictably control fiber self-assembly on the mesoscale with functional capabilities of small molecule recognition; 2) integrate non-canonical amino acids that encode thermostability and traceability using our developed algorithms and expression system to incorporate fluorinated amino acids; and 3) biomineralize and order iron oxide nanoparticles on the organized protein fiber substrates leading to image-ready bio-nanocomposites with magnetic properties. Lessons learned from these studies can be employed for delivery of other chemical agents with applications extending to non-medical industries including personal care, cosmetics and environmental remediation. The research is a multi-disciplinary effort in which students from various backgrounds including biology, computer science, materials chemistry, chemical engineering and biomedical engineering.
As part of our outreach, we engage girls (predominantly women of color) from the Urban Assembly Institute for Math and Science for Young Women who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM on biomaterials in alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards.