Gregor Heiss

Research project

My research objective is to study dynamics of protein folding (Chaperones), polymerase DNA interaction and optical dynamics of photoswitchable proteins (Dronpa) on a single molecule level.
Single molecule techniques have the major advantage that in addition to ensemble averaged measurements they allow a detailed insight into rare or transient processes as well as subpopulations. The usage of Total Internal Reflection Microscopy (TIRFM) in combination with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and Alternating Excitation (ALEX) allows us to make quantitative measurements of distances in the angstrom range and dynamics.
Chaperones are proteins whose function is to catalyze the proper folding of other proteins. They act only on unfolded, misfolded or partly folded proteins and may apply post translational modifications to them. The folding progress can be monitored through a FRET pair placed at various locations to observe different parts of the poly peptide chain while folding takes place. This way we can obtain detailed information about the folding process, including intermediate steps and subpopulations which couldn’t be observed in an ensemble measurement.
A further project is to use photoswitchable proteins to construct molecular switches and determine their characteristics.

Curriculum vitae

Scholarships:

Publications

• D. E. Chandler, Z. K. Majumdar, G. J. Heiss. Ruby Crystal for Demonstrating Time- and Frequency-Domain Methods of Fluorescence Lifetime Measurements, Journal of Fluorescence, Vol. 16, 793-807 (2006)
• O. Holub, M. J. Seufferheld, C. Gohlke, Govndjee, G.J. Heiss and R. M. Clegg. Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: "non-photochemical quenching mutants and the effect of photosynthetic inhibitors on the slow chlorophyll fluorescence transient", Journal of Microscopy, Vol. 226, 90–120 (2007)

Contact

Room: E1.003
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 2180-77537
E-Mail: Gregor.Heiss"at"cup.uni-muenchen.de