Ramakrishna V. Hosur

Biography

Ph.D.: Mumbai University, 1978. Post-doctoral training: ETH, Switzerland 1981-83

Research Interest

Prof. Hosur is carrying out research in the most frontier areas at the interface of chemistry and biology. Structural biology rests on the basic paradigm that structure and function of biological macromolecules are intimately connected. Indeed, knowledge of three-dimensional structure, in many instances, has provided invaluable insights and explanations to biological functions. Further, elucidation of specific interactions between enzymes and their specific substrates, on the three dimensional structures of the macromolecules, have formed the basis of systematic drug design. In recent years, the basic paradigm of structural biology has expanded to include internal dynamics of biological macromolecules. It is recognized that proteins and nucleic acids exhibit internal motions, at various time scales ranging from milliseconds to picoseconds. While some of these motions are crucial for the functions, some others are important from the regulatory points of view. Folding mechanisms of protein molecules is yet another challenging area of structural biology, which has occupied the center stage of research. This has come with the realization that misfolding of proteins leads to malfunction and diseases.