Numerical simulations of proteins
PhD ceremony: | Mr J.C. (Carlos) Ramirez Palacios |
When: | January 11, 2022 |
Start: | 12:45 |
Supervisors: | prof. dr. S.J. (Siewert-Jan) Marrink, prof. dr. D.B. Janssen |
Where: | Academy building RUG |
Faculty: | Science and Engineering |
Computational methods to model biomolecular systems have adopted a dominant position in tackling problems that would otherwise be impractical or impossible to solve via experimental techniques. In this thesis, three of such methods are used to model proteins: molecular dynamics, molecular docking, and deep learning. The first two are structure-based methods, where atoms are considered explicitly, while the latter is a data-driven method. Molecular modeling has yielded remarkable achievements in the last few decades, driven mainly by the increase in computer power and better algorithms. Deep learning is a newcomer to the study of biomolecular systems. Yet, it has the potential to spark a revolution in molecular simulations. Along the thesis, the three numerical methods are mainly used to build pipelines that can predict enzymatic activity. Accurately predicting the enzymatic activity can be a powerful tool in guiding efforts to tailor of the enzymatic activity toward a desired compound.