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Alexey S. Ladokhin
Assistant Professor |
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Education and Experience
1979-1984: Shevchenko National University, Kiev, Ukraine, M.S., Physics.
1984-1989: Institute of Biochemistry, NANU, Kiev, Ukraine, Ph.D., Biophysics.
1990-1992: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, Postdoctoral Fellow.
1992-1994: The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, Postdoctoral Fellow.
1994-2004: University of California, Irvine, CA, Research Scientist
2004-present: University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Assistant Professor.
Major Research Interests
I. Structure, Folding and Functioning of Membrane Proteins
This research is driven by a search for answers to two questions: how do proteins cross membranes, and how do they insert into lipid bilayers? In the cell, these vital functions are achieved by complex multi-protein assemblies. But the diphtheria toxin T-domain by itself inserts into the membrane under acidic conditions and translocates the catalytic domain across the lipid bilayer. Low pH is also involved in transbilayer insertion of annexin 12, a representative of a large protein family that has been implicated in a variety of membrane functions and in a number of human diseases. The pH-triggered refolding-insertion-translocation of the T-domain and other proteins (e.g. botulinum toxin) is not only of inherent importance, but also can reveal general physicochemical principles underlying membrane protein assembly and stability. (Funded by NIH)
II. Ion Channels, Blockers
III. Antimicrobial Peptides
IV. Translocon-Assisted Membrane Insertion, Sorting
V. Biophysical Methods, Single-Molecule Spectroscopy
