Osmolytes and Intrinsically Disordered Proteins: From Functional Regulation to Disease Pathogenesis: Volume 211

About

Dr. Tanveer Ali Dar affiliated with University of Kashmir stands as a pioneer in the dynamic and evolving field of osmolyte-protein biology. Holding advanced degrees in his field Dr. Dar has dedicated his career to advancing scientific knowledge and innovation in osmolyte research. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that combines biochemical biophysical and molecular biology techniques Dr. Dar explores the dynamic interplay between osmolytes and proteins at the molecular level. His research sheds light on how osmolytes modulate protein structure and dynamics enabling cells to adapt and thrive under stressful conditions such as osmotic stress temperature fluctuations and disease states. He has to his credit several breakthrough contributions in the area of exploring the osmolyte induced structural-functional integrity of proteins and their implications in protein misfolding disease interventions. Besides focusing on several aspects of osmolyte research his research particularly emphasizes on understanding the roles of osmolytes and intrinsically disordered proteins in cellular function and disease pathogenesis. His pioneering investigations have shed light on the dynamic interplay between these molecular entities unraveling fundamental mechanisms underlying cellular resilience and disease progression. Dr. Dar is recognized for his contributions to both theoretical understanding and practical applications in the osmolyte-field and his work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed international journals. Moreover he has to his credit a couple of books published by Springer International Ltd. Apple academic Press and Elsevier USA. Dr. Dar is also a recipient of Indian National Science Academy visiting fellowship and is a member of various international and national scientific societies like ASBMB Canadian Society of Molecular Biosciences National Academy of Sciences India India Biophysical society etc. He is a prolific reviewer editor and editorial board member of a number of prestigious journals. As an educator he is committed to nurturing the next generation of scientists mentoring students and guiding them towards excellence in research. Prof. Laishram R. Singh is a pioneer in the field of osmolyte research. He has made several landmark contributions in understanding protein folding mechanism by osmolytes and harnessing the basic knowledge in designing strategies for the therapeutic intervention of human diseases caused by protein folding defects. He obtained his doctoral degree (in the year 2006) from Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi from where he begins his research on osmoprotectants unveiling their role in protein folding landscape and thermodynamics of protein folding. He then expanded his expertise during his postdoctoral studies at Fox Chase Cancer Cancer Philadelphia by employing these molecules for restoring functions to disease causing mutant proteins related to homocystinuria. Nowadays metabolomic studies has further expanded the repertoire of osmolytic molecules that are upregulated or downregulated under various disease conditions including neurodegenerative diseases. Presently at the University of Delhi he is engaged on identifying specific brain osmolytes that could regulate the functional activity of acetylcholinesterase and carbonic anhydrase (important target enzymes of Dementia). He is also interested in using these osmolytes to correct folding defects of some of the folding deficient brain proteins including Aß a-synuclein transthyretin whose toxic inclusions are the emblematic signatures of Dementia. He has published more than 85 articles related to the avenue osmolyte research” in various journals of high international repute. He is a prolific reviewer guest editors and is in the editorial board members of prestigious journals. Prof. Vladimir N. Uversky PhD DSc FRSB FRSC F.A.I.M.B.E. Professor at the Department of Molecular Medicine Morsani College of Medicine University of South Florida (USF) is a pioneer in the field of protein intrinsic disorder. He has made a number of groundbreaking contributions in the field of protein folding misfolding and intrinsic disorder. He obtained his academic degrees from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Ph.D. in 1991) and from the Institute of Experimental and Theoretical Biophysics Russian Academy of Sciences (D.Sc. in 1998). He spent his early career working mostly on protein folding at the Institute of Protein Research and the Institute for Biological Instrumentation (Russia). In 1998 moved to the University of California Santa Cruz. In 2004 joined the Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis as a Senior Research Professor. Since 2010 Professor Uversky is with USF where he works on various aspects of protein intrinsic disorder phenomenon and on analysis of protein folding and misfolding processes. Prof. Uversky has authored over 1250 scientific publications and edited several books and book series on protein structure function folding misfolding and intrinsic disorder. He is also serving as an editor in a number of scientific journals. He was a co-founder of the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Subgroup at the Biophysical Society and the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Gordon Research Conference. Prof. Uversky collaborated with more than 12500 colleagues from more than 2750 research organizations in 89 countries/territories.