A continuing focus of my research is on investigating the principles (structural, energetic and dynamic) that govern the interactions of proteins, with other proteins, nucleic acids, peptides and small molecules. To that end I employ molecular simulation and modeling techniques to study these interactions at the atomic scale. I am furthermore keen on analyzing the properties of known protein structures and sequences in order to gain insight into how evolution has shaped the functional specificity of proteins.

In parallel to these molecular level investigations I am actively engaged in developing quantitative and integrative computational approaches for analyzing physical and functional interactions between proteins, protein complexes and biochemical pathways at the cellular level. My research activities closely combine the development of analysis methods and software tools, with their application to important biological problems with relevance to human health.

Distinctions and community-wide activities

-Elected Member of EMBO: since 1990

-Management and coordination of CAPRI (Critical Assessment of Predicted Interactions): since 2001

-Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB): since 2016

-Member of Faculty Opinion: since 2017

-Elixir 3DBioInfo Community/ coordinator: 2020-2023

-Elixir 3DBioInfo Community/ Executive Committee member: since 2020