Research

Welcome to the Strauch lab

We are a relatively new lab using both computational and experimental methodologies to understand, inhibit and re-purpose biological processes on the protein level. Our main focus is on how to diagnose, prevent and treat viral infections with the aim to generate new anti-virals and candidates for vaccination through protein design. For that we develop and use new cutting-edge technologies involving structural design as well as pooled oligo-synthesis and next-generation sequencing. While we are studying viral surface proteins principally to understand how we can target them or provide new immunogens, we also seek to shed light on how protein chemistry is involved in making viruses so successful. Viruses and their surface proteins hold the molecular keys for identifying specific host cells, entering them and re-programming them -- much of what we will need to fight cancer.

What does this mean concretely

We utilize a variety of experimental techniques to address our above-mentioned objectives. With the advent of chip-based DNA synthesis we can test thousands of sequences and screen them for their functions using next generation sequencing. This way we can also generate detailed sequence-function landscapes. We heavily rely on flow cytometry as we are display technologies (such as yeast display) to evaluate protein and peptide binding, as well as protein folding. We also use a variety of biochemical assays such as size exclusion chromatography, circular dichroism, biolayer interferometry, ELISA, and more.
For the development and application of our protein design projects we utilize the macromolecular software suite Rosetta. We are part of the RosettaCommons, an international community of over 400 researchers developing and applying molecular modeling and design methodologies. The Rosetta researchers meet every year at RosettaCon in Leavenworth, WA to discuss the exciting science we can now do with computational design and modeling. Expertise with Rosetta is highly demanded in both industry and in academia.

Announcements

Abby and Mark from the ILS program are rotating in the lab.
A new post-doc joins the lab! Welcome Manikandan!
RosettaCon time! Karen, Raulia, Isaac and Eva are in Leavenworth, WA for some exciting science!
the lab is growing exponentially!
- Isaac Torres joined the lab; he received a fellowship for the Bioinformatics Ph.D. program. Welcome Isaac.
- Kyle Noble is joining as a research technician! Welcome!
- Raulia Syrlybaeva is joining us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome Raulia!
- Karen Juliana Gonzalez Restrepo is joining the lab! Welcome Karen.
Vanderbilt's Modeling Immunity symposium has been a fun event to be part of. Eva gave a talk on "Protein Design vs Pathogen."
Eva gave a seminar on April 10th at the Center for Vaccines and Immunology.
We are joining the Institute of Bioinformatics!
Eva gave a seminar at the Institute of Bioinformatics: "Designer Proteins: Targeting protein pathogen interactions" (Feb. 2019)
The lab just received an R21 to work on the immunogenicity of proteins and how we can develop a better screen for that! (Feb. 2019)