Biomolecular Engineering

Our department employs a unique blend of theory, simulations, and experimental techniques for biomolecular engineering. Fully atomistic and coarse grained molecular simulations are being developed to derive fundamental insights into protein interactions underlying disease states, which help identify novel drug and vaccine targets. Sophisticated single molecule spectroscopic experiments have been set up to probe rare molecular interactions within living cells, allowing first-hand observations of events that cause development and disease. Novel microfluidic approaches like paper-microfluidics and lab-on-chip devices are opening new and affordable avenues for point-of-care diagnostics and revealing cellular/ tissue behaviour in in vitro models.

Modelling and simulations of viral dynamics and evolution coupled with single molecule experiments and data from patients, obtained in collaboration with clinicians, are being employed to unravel the origins of the failure of current treatments and to design more potent and economical therapeutic protocols. Reaction network theory and experiments on quorum-sensing are being used to understand cellular signalling events and emergent systems-level properties that viruses and bacteria manipulate to overcome our immune response, presenting new avenues for vaccine design.

Metabolic engineering of bacteria coupled with optimization and control techniques for bioreactors is being exploited to produce biofuels and degrade environmentally harmful effluents and waste. Our efforts thus synergize a broad spectrum of engineering and design techniques to achieve precise manipulation of biological phenomena for improved healthcare and sustainable development.