Structural biology of protein folding on the ribosome

Dr Christodoulou studies the co-translational folding process, which transforms a nascent polypeptide chain into a fully folded and functional protein as the chain emerges from the ribosome (the protein synthesis machinery in cells). His research will look at the structure and dynamics of nascent proteins during their synthesis, how they interact with the ribosome and molecular chaperones (proteins that aid folding) and how the ribosomal machinery aids trafficking to the correct cellular compartment. This knowledge of how protein three-dimensional structures arise or misfold is important in a range of metabolic, oncological and neurodegenerative conditions.