Welcome to the Weisshaar Group Homepage!!!!

We are biophysical chemists who study protein and DNA structure and dynamics in real time in live cells, in lipid bilayers, and tethered to inert surfaces. Our experimental tools include fast optical microscopy using CCD cameras with single molecule sensitivity and ps-resolved fluorescence lifetime measurements, combined with the tricks of modern molecular biology. We analyze motion on a 10 nm length scale using sophisticated tracking algorithms and statistical models. Systems of current interest include insertion and aggregation of membrane proteins in model lipid bilayers, formation and dynamics of the minimal protein fusion machine for vesicle fusion to a model membrane, and protein diffusion in live bacteria to study macromolecular crowding effects. This is inherently interdisciplinary work, combining the skills of physical chemists, molecular biologists, and theorists.

At the moment, our group website is undergoing an upgrade. In the mean time if you would like to know more about our research, feel free to email Jim Weisshaar at weisshaar@chem.wisc.edu.

You can also look at a couple of our recent publications:

M.C. Konopka, I.A. Shkel, S. Cayley, M.T. Record, J.C. Weisshaar. Crowding and confinement effects on protein diffusion in vivo. J Bacteriol., 188, 6115-6123 (2006). [Medline]

T. Liu, W.C. Tucker, A. Bhalla, E.R. Chapman, J.C. Weisshaar. SNARE-driven, 25-millisecond vesicle fusion in vitro. Biophys J., 89, 2458-2472 (2005). [Medline]