Joseph Rogers

Joseph Rogers says: “Proteins are the main molecules in biology, and they are more complicated than we thought. Some will ‘fold’ to a specific three-dimensional structure, whereas others refuse to fold and stay ‘disordered’. Disordered proteins are important to human biology and can act by binding other biomolecules. Interestingly, some disordered proteins will acquire structure when they bind, whereas others do not. We do not understand how this diverse protein behaviour arises from the DNA encoded sequence of amino acids. I will unpack this relationship using a new technique, where thousands of mutants, small changes to amino acid sequence, can be examined in a single experiment. The diversity of protein activities presents another problem – how can we control these processes, understand their importance in the cell and develop novel therapeutics? I will show that a new breed of drug-like compounds – cyclic peptides – have great potential to influence these new-found protein behaviours.”

Joseph Rogers will relocate from Boston, United States, where he has been working for Vertex Pharmaceuticals to set up his independent research group at University of Copenhagen in the beginning of 2020.