Hassane Mchaourab

Started in June 2025, a new collaborative science project called diffUSE involving Vanderbilt University, Cornell University, and the University of California, San Francisco, could be the next watershed moment. The $5 million, three-year project led by the Astera Institute will advance our understanding of protein motion. Using diffuse scattering, an overlooked signal measured by X-ray crystallography, the project will determine how protein dynamics are characterized, leading to a new paradigm in dynamic structural biology. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers probe the mysteries of an enzyme that could be used as a tool in basic research and medicinal chemistry. Read More

Alexandra C. Schwartz, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the Chemical and Physical Biology Program, and colleagues developed an experimental and artificial intelligence–coupled methodology to explore the structural dynamics of membrane proteins. Read More

At a recent Center for Applied AI in Protein Dynamics seminar, Christian Mayr of Technische Universität Dresden discussed how new hardware technologies will transform AI development and allow machines to mimic the efficiency and processing power of the human brain. Read More

Benjamin P. Brown, assistant professor of pharmacology, and colleagues in the departments of molecular physiology and biophysics, pharmacology, and chemistry, have determined that AlphaFold2 can be used to generate approximations of relative conformational preferences of proteins, which will help researchers better understand a protein’s structure and function across a range of conditions and mutational states. Read More

The School of Medicine Basic Sciences has launched the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Protein Dynamics, which is focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and macromolecular mechanism. It is helmed by Hassane Mchaourab, who holds the Louise B. McGavock Chair in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Read More

The Aug. 30 School of Medicine Basic Sciences Apex Lecture featured visionary biophysicist John Jumper (BS’07). His talk described AlphaFold, the revolutionary protein structure-predicting program, that he co-developed. Read More

John Jumper, Ph.D. To highlight major inflection points in research, the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences launched the Apex Lecture Series earlier this year, which allows the Basic Sciences community to engage with researchers from around the world who are influencing the trajectory of their fields. John… Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences has launched the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Protein Dynamics, which is focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning and macromolecular mechanism. It will be led by Hassane Mchaourab, who holds the Louise B. McGavock Chair… Read More

Structure of a caveolin-1 complex obtained using cryo-electron microscopy. A protomer, or a structural unit, is highlighted in magenta. The image was cropped to focus on panel A of Figure 1 of the paper, modified and published here in accordance to a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Read More