New methods for protein design

This project aims to develop new methodology to design binding specificity in proteins in a rational way. Extending the existing repertoire of protein specificity through the application of engineering principles will expand our ability to harness the catalytic power and high binding affinities of natural proteins. By building upon leading protein design algorithms in this work, we will develop novel biosensors for neurotransmitters and specialist enzymes for the incorporation of unnatural amino acids. The designs and algorithms will be iteratively improved by computational and experimental characterisation. The outcomes of this project will address the long-standing need in synthetic biology for a facile route to designer proteins.