ICMAB PERIODICAL LECTURES

ONLINE EVENT - REGISTER HERE to attend

By Huixia Lu, UPC / ICMAB-CSIC

Abstract: Modeling skills are crucial in various fields and disciplines, enhancing our ability to understand, predict, and solve complex problems. In modern biology, biomolecular modeling and simulation are pivotal tools that provide profound insights into the structure, dynamics, and functions of biological molecules. These techniques allow researchers to decipher complex biological processes at the molecular level.

In this talk, I will present a comprehensive overview of the construction of different biosystems, focusing on membrane proteins to study transmembrane signaling pathways and related in silico drug design. I will also examine the binding mechanisms of peptides with DNA/siRNA, highlight the first experimentally verified amyloid-beta oligomer structure, and explore protein-biomaterial interactions for oncological applications. All in all, I will emphasize on the importance of collaborations between experimental and theory teams to help advance the boundaries of research.

Short bio: Huixia Lu is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Physics of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-Barcelona Tech (UPC), and she is also a visitor at the Soft Matter Theory Group of ICMAB-CSIC. She graduated in Condensed Physics/Soft Matter at UPC, where she completed her doctoral thesis in 2020. She then joined Shanghai Jiao Tong University to carry out her first postdoctoral stay, during which she was awarded with the Daily Funding for Excellent Postdoctoral Fellows by Shanghai Special Fund to Promote Talent Development. Then, she returned back to Spain holding the postdoctoral fellowship “Margarita Salas” funded by the European Union – NextGeneration EU (2023-2024) to work at ICMAB and UPC. She is currently serving as a co-supervisor in a predoc program at UPC, and an editorial board member of the journal Oncology Advances. Her core competencies include molecular modelling, membrane physics, protein science, signal pathways, and soft matter. She is motivated by the challenge and potential of abnormal protein signal transduction, or other related topics to fight cancer.