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Centre for Misfolding Diseases

Professor Tuomas Knowles

Professor of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics

1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry

Our research

We study the physical and chemical aspects of the behaviour of biopolymers and other soft systems. Much of our work has been focused on the physical aspects underlying the self-assembly of protein molecules. Self-organisation is the driving force generating complex matter in nature, and the process by which the machinery providing functionality in living systems is assembled. The goal of our research is to understand the physical and chemical factors which control the structures and dynamics of biomolecular assemblies, and the connections between the nanoscale characteristics of the component molecules and the physical properties of large-scale assemblies and their behaviour on a mesoscopic to macroscopic scale. The techniques used in our laboratory include biosensors, optical lithography, microfluidic devices and scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy. We work both with natural and synthetic polymers and our interests range from fundamental chemical physics to technological applications in material science and molecular medicine.

Watch Professor Knowles discuss his research

Take a tour of the Sir Rodney Sweetnam laboratory

Publications

The liquid-to-solid transition of FUS is promoted by the condensate surface.
Y Shen, A Chen, W Wang, Y Shen, FS Ruggeri, S Aime, Z Wang, S Qamar, JR Espinosa, A Garaizar, P St George-Hyslop, R Collepardo-Guevara, DA Weitz, D Vigolo, TPJ Knowles
– Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
(2023)
120,
e2301366120
(doi: 10.1073/pnas.2301366120)
Electrophysiological In Vitro Study of Long‐Range Signal Transmission by Astrocytic Networks
N Hastings, Y-L Yu, B Huang, S Middya, M Inaoka, NA Erkamp, RJ Mason, A Carnicer-Lombarte, S Rahman, TPJ Knowles, M Bance, GG Malliaras, MRN Kotter
– Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
(2023)
10,
e2301756
(doi: 10.1002/advs.202301756)
Single-molecule digital sizing of proteins in solution
G Krainer, RPB Jacquat, M Schneider, T Welsh, J Fan, Q Peter, E Andrzejewska, G Šneiderienė, M Czekalska, H Ausserwoeger, L Chai, W Arter, K Saar, T Herling, T Franzmann, V Kosmoliaptsis, S Alberti, F-U Hartl, S Lee, TPJ Knowles
(2023)
(doi: 10.1101/2023.07.12.548675)
Self-replication of Aβ42aggregates occurs on small and isolated fibril sites
S Curk, J Krausser, G Meisl, D Frenkel, S Linse, T Michaels, T Knowles, A Šarić
(2023)
(doi: 10.1101/2023.07.05.547777)
Amyloid formation as a protein phase transition
TCT Michaels, D Qian, A Šarić, M Vendruscolo, S Linse, TPJ Knowles
– Nature Reviews Physics
(2023)
5,
379
(doi: 10.1038/s42254-023-00598-9)
Positional influence on cellular transcriptional identity revealed through spatially segmented single-cell transcriptomics
DB Morse, AM Michalowski, M Ceribelli, J De Jonghe, M Vias, D Riley, T Davies-Hill, T Voss, S Pittaluga, C Muus, J Liu, S Boyle, DA Weitz, JD Brenton, JD Buenrostro, TPJ Knowles, CJ Thomas
– Cell Systems
(2023)
14,
464
(doi: 10.1016/j.cels.2023.05.003)
Amyloids and protein aggregation.
S Linse, T Knowles
– Chemical Science
(2023)
14,
6491
(doi: 10.1039/d2sc90225g)
Formation of Protein Nanoparticles in Microdroplet Flow Reactors
Q Zhang, Z Toprakcioglu, AK Jayaram, G Guo, X Wang, TPJ Knowles
– ACS Nano
(2023)
17,
11335
(doi: 10.1021/acsnano.3c00107)
De Novo Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Decoy NL-CVX1 Protects Mice From Severe Disease After Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection.
M Rebelo, C Tang, AR Coelho, C Labão-Almeida, MM Schneider, L Tatalick, P Ruivo, MP de Miranda, A Gomes, T Carvalho, MJ Walker, H Ausserwoeger, J Pedro Simas, M Veldhoen, TPJ Knowles, D-A Silva, D Shoultz, GJL Bernardes
– The Journal of infectious diseases
(2023)
228,
723
(doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiad135)
Quantifying collective interactions in biomolecular phase separation
H Ausserwöger, D Qian, G Krainer, E de Csilléry, T Welsh, T Sneideris, T Franzmann, S Qamar, N Erkamp, J Nixon-Abell, M Kar, PS George-Hyslop, A Hyman, S Alberti, R Pappu, T Knowles
(2023)
(doi: 10.1101/2023.05.31.543137)
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Co-Director

Research Interest Groups

Physical
Biological

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address

College

St John's College

    Study at Cambridge

    About the University

    Research at Cambridge