Lab Members

Ali Malay

ASI Scientist
Heddle Initiative Research Unit
RIKEN

Email: a.malay at riken.jp

Research Interests

Structural biology for basic biologic research - I am using X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and diverse biochemical techniques to probe the structures of proteins involved in homologous recombination.

Protein - nanoparticle interactions - as the field of nanomedicine gains wider acceptance it is necessary to study how nanoparticles may interact and possibly modify biomolecules such as proteins. I am studying a unique phenomenon whereby gold nanoparticles induce the assembly of novel, capsid-like protein shells.

Biotemplating - I am interested in using proteins with unique structural characteristics to control the growth of inorganic materials at the nanoscale. This is an example of the "bottom-up" approach to nanofabrication. In one such project I am using the ring-shaped protein TRAP in conjunction with Au-NPs and electroless gold deposition to create novel types of material.