Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series: Jianhan Chen

About this event

The Orderly Chaos of Proteins

For decades, we believed that every protein in our bodies requires a stable, well-defined 3D structure to function, but we have recently discovered a hidden world of biological “shape-shifters” that defy conventional wisdom. These Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDPs) are the “dark matter” of our cells, existing not as stable shapes but as shifting and apparently chaotic clouds of dynamic conformations. IDPs masterfully control our most complex cellular decisions and even form mysterious “liquid droplets” that organize major cellular processes. While this flexibility is essential for life, it also has a dangerous side. When these shape-shifters go awry, they become the primary drivers of devastating diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancers, where they represent a staggering two-thirds of all cancer-associated proteins. In this lecture, Professor Jianhan Chen will explore the fascinating ways that nature has been able to take advantage of the apparent “chaos” of IDPs for function and how we are using computational modeling as “digital microscopes” to decode this functional chaos, showing that understanding these fascinating molecules is the key to unlocking the next generation of life-saving medicines.