Welcome to the Laboratory of Samrat Mukhopadhyay
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins, Amyloid Formation, and Biological Phase Separation
Single-Molecule Biology and Nanoscale Biophysics of Biomolecular Condensates
Overview
The overarching goal of our lab is to investigate a wide range of fascinating aspects of intrinsically disordered proteins/regions (IDPs/IDRs) that undergo phase separation and amyloid formation. IDPs challenge the tenets of the traditional structure-function paradigm and exist as a rapidly interconverting conformational ensemble rather than a single well-defined structure. The conformational plasticity allows them to adopt different structures depending on their binding partners. Therefore, a single polypeptide sequence is capable of accomplishing a range of functions. It proposed that retaining disorder is an evolutionary strategy that allows complex functions within a compact genome of higher organisms. Additionally, the dysfunction of many IDPs is associated with a range of deadly diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and cancers. In our lab, we utilize a diverse array of tools and concepts from physical chemistry to chemical biology to biophysics and molecular biology to study the intriguing behavior of IDPs. Our efforts are aimed at delineating the fundamental molecular mechanism by which liquid-like condensates are formed and dissipated. We are also studying the liquid-to-solid phase transition into amyloid-like aggregates that are associated with deadly neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and so forth.
We are interested in the following specific aspects of IDPs:
Conformational characteristics of IDPs and IDRs
Biomolecular condensation & liquid-liquid phase separation
Mechanism of amyloid formation
Functional prions and amyloids
Interactions of IDPs with lipid membrane
Hydration water in IDPs
Development and adaptation of new methodologies
For more details, see our Research page.
News and Events
Read our latest preprint on the use of intermolecular energy migration via HomoFRET for capturing the modulation of material properties of phase-separated biomolecular condensates.
Samrat takes charge as the Biophysical Society (BPS) IDP subgroup chair at the 68th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting held in Philadelphia, for the 2025 Los Angeles BPS meeting.
Latest work from our lab got featured by SERB Media Cell and DST. Read about our work.
Samrat has been awarded the prestigious JC Bose Fellowship.
Samrat got invited as the JSPS Visiting Professor at Tohoku University, Japan.
Enjoy the author’s view on an exciting study using single-molecule FRET in biomolecular condensates. Read the interview of Ashish Joshi, that got featured in Biopatrika.
Sandeep K. Rai presented his latest work at CompFlu 2023 – an international conference on complex fluids & soft matter organized at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai.
Samrat delivered the INSA New Fellow Lecture at the annual meeting of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) at CCMB, Hyderabad.
Our latest paper on single-molecule FRET in biomolecular condensates is published in Nature Communications (this is our 3rd paper in Nature Communications).
Research Funding
IISER Mohali
Centre for Protein Science, Design and Engineering (Centre of Excellence at IISER Mohali)