Tuomas Knowles
University of Cambridge
Tuomas Knowles studied Biology at the University of Geneva, and Physics at ETH Zurich. He moved to Cambridge in 2004 to work towards his PhD in the Cavendish Laboratory and the Nanoscience Centre. In 2008 he was elected to a Research Fellowship at St. John's College, Cambridge, and was then appointed to a University Lectureship in Physical Chemistry in 2010, joining the faculty at the Department of Chemistry in Cambridge. He then successively held a University Readership between 2013 and 2015 and a Professorship since 2015 in the Department of Chemistry. Since 2016 he is Professor of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics in the Department of Chemistry and at the Cavendish Laboratory, and is co- director of the Cambridge Centre for Protein Misfolding Diseases in Cambridge.
The Knowles Lab brings together ideas and tools from Chemistry and Physics to develop new approaches to probe the behaviour of biological molecules. They work with both natural and synthetic polymers and their interests range from fundamental biophysics to technological applications in materials science and molecular medicine. They are particularly interested in protein self-assembly, the processes by which proteins come together to form the nanoscale machinery of life. Much of their efforts in this area are focused on understanding aberrant protein self-assembly that underlies neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. They are also interested in controlling the self-assembly of natural proteins to generate new types of functional materials.
The techniques used in their laboratory include microfluidics, protein chemistry, biosensors, optical lithography and scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy. They also have an interest in applying theoretical concepts from statistical mechanics and chemical kinetics to protein systems.
The Knowles Lab brings together ideas and tools from Chemistry and Physics to develop new approaches to probe the behaviour of biological molecules. They work with both natural and synthetic polymers and their interests range from fundamental biophysics to technological applications in materials science and molecular medicine. They are particularly interested in protein self-assembly, the processes by which proteins come together to form the nanoscale machinery of life. Much of their efforts in this area are focused on understanding aberrant protein self-assembly that underlies neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. They are also interested in controlling the self-assembly of natural proteins to generate new types of functional materials.
The techniques used in their laboratory include microfluidics, protein chemistry, biosensors, optical lithography and scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy. They also have an interest in applying theoretical concepts from statistical mechanics and chemical kinetics to protein systems.