Martin Schwalbe

Citation

Thesis Title
Intrinsic disorder and coiled coil formation in prostate apoptosis response factor-4 (Par-4)

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Mr. Schwalbe’s research focussed on the structural characterization of the protein Par-4. Par-4 is a regulatory protein that has been implicated in a variety of diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer’s disease. This research represents the first thorough approach to study the three-dimensional structure of Par-4 and lays the groundworks to analyze the function of Par-4 on a molecular level with the future aim of developing new therapies for Par-4-associated diseases. Findings indicate that the majority of Par-4 does not adopt a well defined structure and remains mostly disordered, but also that Par-4 is able to self-associate with other Par-4 molecules. These features are commonly observed for regulatory proteins and are necessary for their biologic function.

Supervisors
Associate Professor Steven Pascal
Associate Professor Andrew Sutherland-Smith