All processes in cells take place in or near biological membranes. These membranes are only a few nanometers thick and are made up of lipids and proteins. Many drugs target these proteins directly. In order to understand and influence what happens in membranes, it is important to know exactly how they work. This is particularly important for health care, medical treatments and biotechnological applications.
Our team at the University of Graz studies these structures by recreating them in the laboratory. This so-called bottom-up approach helps us to study the properties of the membranes in detail. We combine knowledge from different fields such as biophysics, molecular biology, biochemistry, soft matter physics and physical chemistry.
We are tackling exciting questions such as
- Why are phospholipids asymmetrically distributed in the cell membrane?
- How do membrane properties affect proteins?
- How do membranes respond to drugs?
Principal Investigator
Assoz. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Georg Pabst
+43 316 380 - 4989
Institute of Molecular Biosciences
Humboldtstr. 50/III
8010 Graz
by appointment
ORCID: 0000-0003-1967-1536
https://membrane-biophysics.uni-graz.at/en/