Rafael Brüschweiler
Contact Information
Job Title
Ohio Research Scholar; Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- bruschweiler.1@osu.edu
- Phone
- 614 688-2083
Google Map
Areas of Expertise
- Enzymes
- Molecular Basis of Disease - Cancer
- Structural Biology
- Cell Biology
Education
- Postdoctoral, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, 1994
- PhD, ETH Zurich, 1991
Research Description
Professor Brüschweiler's research is highly cross-disciplinary in the area of biophysical chemistry as well as analytical chemistry. It focuses on the understanding of the role of dynamics and interactions of proteins for their function and on the analysis of complex biological mixtures in the context of metabolomics. The main research tools are high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-performance computation, which includes the development of new and improved techniques to enhance resolution, sensitivity, and speed. Biological systems studied in the lab include the following proteins: the GTPase K-Ras and its oncogenic mutants, p53/MDM2, sodium-calcium exchanger NCX, Cu2+-ATPase, ubiquitin, and the enzymes arginine kinase and glucokinase. Metabolic studies are conducted on opportunistic biofilm-forming microbes, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylocuccus aureus, drosophila, E. coli, yeast, and cancer cell lines for the identification of biomarkers, biochemical pathways and the characterization of novel metabolites in health and disease. We also combine biophysical chemistry with nano-science, for example, for nanoparticle-assisted NMR spin relaxation. We also develop machine-learning tools for the better and automated analysis and interpretation of NMR data.