Frankel

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Welcome to the Frankel Group We are interested in the reductionist approach to biology which considers complex biological systems as machines allowing us to apply the laws of physics and rules of engineering to understand such systems. In particular we are working on building bio/machine hybrids bringing biological sensitivity and control to robotic devices. We are also interested in constructing artificial viruses for drug delivery (without the nasty infectious bits!!) and understanding/exploiting the ultimate bio/machine interface, the cell membrane. ▪. Unfolding Disease One Molecule at a Time - Proteins involved in disease such as HIV, cancer and arthritis are potential therapeutic targets. Their unfolding and self assembly behaviour is examined at the single molecule level revealing insight into their function. ▪. Determining the Forces that Hold Cancer Cells Together- We examine the role of various proteins in metastasis and tumor growth ▪. Manipulating Chemical and Biological Forces to Build an Artificial Cell - A bottom up approach to assembling an artificial cell. ▪. Exploring the Surface of Cancer Cells - The cancer cell surface contains a myriad of potential targets for drugs. In this work we map interactions at the cell surface including both nano particle/cell and drug/cell interactions. ▪. Cyberplasm - Building a swimmming bio hybrid microrobot We work at the interface between chemistry, biology and physics and employ both experimental and theoretical approaches. If you are interested in studying challenging systems involving complexity and are not afraid of inter-disciplinary work please don’t hesitate to contact me. Dr. Daniel Frankel : d.j.frankel@newcastle.ac.uk

LATEST NEWS !! HIV paper makes front cover of Soft Matter: Biorobot paper accepted!! 4 new papers in print related to protein unfolding Welcome to the Lab to new PhD student Ana from Ecuador. Cyberplasm receives media attention, here is the original press release living microrobot Congratulations to Orr Yarkoni for passing his PhD viva for a thesis entitled "Engineering an inducible NO pathway to facilitate cell-electronics communication" Congratulations to Darman Nordin for passing his PhD viva for a thesis entitled "Interaction of the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin with model cell membranes"