The Project
Single-molecule studies of biological nano-machines
Winner
Dr. Terence Strick
Institute Jacques Monod / CNRS
2 Place Jussieu
75251 Paris Cedex 05
France
http://www.ijm.fr
Terence Strick, 34 year-old French citizen, is principle investigator at CNRS and the Institute Jacques Monod. He gained his PhD thesis on mechanical supercoiling of DNA with highest honours at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, having originally graduated from Princeton University. He has been invited to speak on DNA and biophysics at numerous conference and seminars, and contributed to publications including "Science", "Nature", and "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences".
Project Description
Advances over the last few years have made it possible to directly manipulate and observe single molecules of protein and nucleic acid, and to observe their interactions in real-time.
Strick and his team aim to use single-molecule approaches to gain structural and kinetic insights into the functioning of biological macromolecular assemblies. The methodologies proposed involve using single-molecule nanomanipulation and single-molecule fluorescence imaging techniques to simultaneously measure structural and kinetic properties of biological “molecular motors”. Their studies will provide an unparalleled mechanistic insight into these fundamental biological machines, exposing their kinetic “Achilles’ heel” for the potential benefit of drug discovery.
