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

Global kinetic model of lipid-induced <i>α</i>-synuclein aggregation and its inhibition by small molecules.
A Stevenson, R Staats, AJ Dear, D Voderholzer, JE Dreier, G Meisl, R Guido, TPJ Knowles, C Galvagnion, AK Buell, M Vendruscolo, TCT Michaels
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
(2025)
122
On-Chip De Novo Production of mRNA Vaccine in Lipid Nanoparticles.
S Zilberzwige-Tal, A Levin, A Ezra, U Elia, G Finkelstein-Zuta, T Kreiser, L Gershon, M Goldsmith, E Kon, Y Navon, O Cohen, TPJ Knowles, D Peer, E Gazit
Small
(2025)
Patch deconvolution for Fourier light-field microscopy
B Fu, C Jones, D Heraghty, S Yang, C O’Brien-Ball, V Junghans, H Yang, TPJ Knowles, L Weiss, R Fernandes, S Lee
(2025)
DNA Partitioning Modulates Liquid-to-Solid Transitions and the Internal Microstructure of FUS Condensates
D Ilhamsyah, C Luong, S Qamar, PS George-Hyslop, J MacKay, LA Ju, T Knowles, D Vigolo, Y Shen
(2025)
Transcript Identification Using Arrayed Hydrogels with TrapFISH
DB Morse, Z Toprakcioglu, A Denduluri-Marthi, JD Brenton, CJ Thomas, TPJ Knowles
Advanced Materials Technologies
(2025)
Using a stable protein scaffold to display peptides that bind to alpha-synuclein fibrils.
S Bismut, MM Schneider, M Miyasaki, Y Feng, EJ Wilde, MD Gunawardena, TPJ Knowles, GS Kaminski Schierle, LS Itzhaki, JR Kumita
Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society
(2025)
34
High-throughput Screening of the Mechanical Properties of Peptide Assemblies
SK Yorke, Z Yang, A Levin, A Ray, JO Boamah, TPJ Knowles, MJ Buehler
(2025)
A mechanism for MEX-5-driven disassembly of PGL-3/RNA condensates in vitro
NS Lewis, S Zedlitz, H Ausserwöger, PM McCall, L Hubatsch, M Nousch, M Ruer-Gruß, C Hoege, F Jülicher, CR Eckmann, TPJ Knowles, AA Hyman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
(2025)
122
Tandem-repeat proteins introduce tuneable properties to engineered biomolecular condensates
TLC Ng, MP Hoare, MJ Maristany, EJ Wilde, T Sneideris, J Huertas, BK Agbetiameh, M Furukawa, JA Joseph, TPJ Knowles, R Collepardo-Guevara, LS Itzhaki, JR Kumita
Chemical Science
(2025)
16
A single fibril study reveals that ApoE inhibits the elongation of Aβ42 fibrils in an isoform-dependent manner
S Dasadhikari, S Ghosh, S Pal, TPJ Knowles, K Garai
Communications Chemistry
(2025)
8

Co-Director

Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address