Single Review on past events

Vinod Subramaniam introduced the audience in his research topic by explaining the structure-function paradigm on the basis of a commonplace example: An ordinary paper clip only fulfils its function when it has its typical curved form. Compared to proteins – his subject of research – it is the same: To perform their specific biological functions, many proteins have to fold into specific forms. But proteins often fail to fold, or misfold. Most of the time cellular quality control mechanisms consign aberrantly folded proteins to the cellular dustbin. When this mechanism fails to kick in, the consequences can be dismal, leading to devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. In his lecture Vinod Subramaniam gave some insights into what happens when proteins misfold into aberrant structures, how we can visualize them, and what the consequences are for human disease.

Vinod Subramaniam has served as Rector Magnificus of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam since September 2015. The focus of his portfolio is on creating the ideal conditions for excellence in research and education. From 2004 until September 2013, Vinod was chair of the Nanobiophysics group at the University of Twente. He continues to be associated with the University of Twente as an extraordinary professor. Vinod has been at the Zukunftskolleg in 2011/2012 as a Senior Fellow invited by Malte Drescher.

On a regular basis, the Zukunftskolleg Lecture honors excellent researchers who are closely related to and associated with the Zukunftskolleg.