Despite the significant advances, our quantitative understanding of biological
function at the molecular and cellular level is still in its relative infancy.
Experimental and theoretical approaches to characterize macromolecular
dynamics and function have evolved dramatically in the last few decades.
However, experiment and computation have co-existed with limited feedback. On
one hand simulations can, in principle, resolve details not accessible to
experiment, but are based on empirical models and, alone, cannot be
quantitatively predictive. On the other hand, a wealth of indirect data on the
structure and dynamics of macromolecular complexes is available from
thermodynamic and kinetic measurements on parts of the systems of interest,
but there is no way to systematically combine these data into a structural
model.
Our group works on the definition and implementation of strategies to study
complex biophysical processes on long timescales. On one hand, we design
multiscale models, adaptive sampling approaches, and data analysis tools that
allow to explore large regions of a system's free energy landscape. On the
other hand, we work on the theoretical formulation to exploit the
complementary information that can be obtained in theory and experiment, to
combine the approximate but high-resolution structural and dynamical
information from computational models with the “exact” but lower resolution
information available from experiments.
Interested in working for us? Contact Cecilia Clementi at cecilia@rice.edu
Cecilia Clementi
Fernando Yrazu
Lorenzo Boninsegna
Alexander Kluber
Justin Chen
Eugen Hruska
Jiming Chen
Molly Hurley
Greg Campo