Research > Molecular Machines Group (Till Bocking)
Molecular Machines Group
Group Leader: Dr Till Böcking
Overview of Research
We aim to elucidate the mechanisms of molecular machines in cellular assembly and disassembly processes. One of our research interests is focused on understanding how ATP-driven molecular chaperones mediate the disassembly of macromolecular complexes (Nat Struct Mol Biol 2011) and the restructuring of protein oligomers and aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases. Another project is aimed at elucidating the assembly pathways of specialised actin filaments decorated with actin-binding proteins.
To understand these processes we use a combination of biochemical and biophysical approaches. In particular, we develop fluorescence imaging approaches to visualise their dynamics at the single-molecule level. Our work also draws on approaches from the physical sciences including surface chemistry, microfluidics and automated image analysis.
More information on our current projects and news are available on our
group website.
Group Members
| Dr Till Böcking | Group Leader, ARC Future Fellow |
| Dr Thomas Sobey | Vice-Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow |
| Mr Walid Al-Zyoud | Postgraduate student |
| Ms Quill Bowden | Postgraduate student |
| Mr Peyman Obeidy | Postgraduate student (Joint supervisor: Prof Gunning) |
| Ms Siti Hawa Ngalim | Postgraduate student (Joint supervisor: A/Prof Gaus) |
Key Publications
Böcking T; Aguet F; Harrison SC; Kirchhausen T. Single molecule analysis of a molecular disassemblase: Mechanism of Hsc70-driven clathrin uncoating,
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2011, 18 (3) 295-301 (cover article).
Xing Y; Böcking T; Wolf M; Kirchhausen T; Harrison SC. The structure of a clathrin coat with specifically bound Hsc70 and auxilin suggests a mechanism for Hsc70-facilitated disassembly,
EMBO Journal, 2010, 29 (3), 655-665.
Böcking T; Kilian KA; Reece P; Gaus K; Gal M; Gooding JJ. Substrate independent assembly of optical structures guided by biomolecular interactions,
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2010, 2 (11) 3270-3275.
Böcking T; Kilian KA; Gaus K; Gooding JJ. Modifying porous silicon with self-assembled monolayers for biomedical applications: the influence of surface coverage on stability and biomolecule coupling.
Advanced Functional Materials, 2008, 18, 3827-3833.
(+) Kilian KA; (+) Böcking T; Gaus K; Gooding JJ. Introducing distinctly different chemical functionalities onto the internal and external surfaces of mesoporous materials.
Angewandte Chemie, International Edition, 2008, 47, 2697-2699.
(+) equal contribution (+) Salomon A; (+) Böcking T; Gooding JJ; Cahen D. How Important Is the Interfacial Chemical Bond for Electron Transport through Alkyl Chain Monolayers?
Nano Letters, 2006, 6, 2873-2876. (+) equal contribution
Links
Funding Sources