Welcome to
the McLain Group!
We are a
multi-disciplinary group interested in the
biophysics of how real biological systems function
and form on the atomic and molecular level.
Natural biological processes, from proteins folding so that they can function to deciphering the DNA code, almost always take place in solution. As humans, around 60% of our body weight is from water and the solutions in our body help to deliver nutrients and oxygen to our many different types of cells. Even though water is essential to life there is relatively little known about interactions between these biological molecules in solutions.
Our group is interested in understanding the interactions between biological molecules in physiologically relevant environments at the level where these interactions occur - the atomic and molecular level. By using a combination of both experimental and computational techniques to probe the interplay between biological molecules from the angstrom scale (10-10 metres (Å)) to the nanoscale (10-9 metres)) we are working towards a better understanding of how biological processes occur in nature.
Natural biological processes, from proteins folding so that they can function to deciphering the DNA code, almost always take place in solution. As humans, around 60% of our body weight is from water and the solutions in our body help to deliver nutrients and oxygen to our many different types of cells. Even though water is essential to life there is relatively little known about interactions between these biological molecules in solutions.
Our group is interested in understanding the interactions between biological molecules in physiologically relevant environments at the level where these interactions occur - the atomic and molecular level. By using a combination of both experimental and computational techniques to probe the interplay between biological molecules from the angstrom scale (10-10 metres (Å)) to the nanoscale (10-9 metres)) we are working towards a better understanding of how biological processes occur in nature.
