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Doctoral Network on Interfacial Water in Membrane Transport

Project description

Studying water’s role in cells

Water makes up most of our cells, but not all of it flows freely. About 70 % is known as interfacial water, which clings to proteins, membranes and internal surfaces. It behaves differently from regular water, influencing how molecules move, how proteins fold and how reactions occur. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the WATER project will train PhD students to study interfacial water in biological membranes. They will examine how confined water affects solute transport, chemical reactions and membrane fusion, using tools like electrophysiology and synthetic chemistry. The research could lead to more effective drugs, vaccines and personalised treatments.

Objective

Water is essential to life. 70% of the water in cells belongs to the hydration shells of proteins, lipid membranes or occupies protein cavities - so-called interfacial water. The difference in structure between interfacial water and bulk water gives rise to a key force in molecular biology: hydrophobic attraction. We do not fully understand how exactly this force contributes to protein folding, stability, structure, function, dynamics or membrane fusion.
WATER aims to train 16 PhD students to unravel the multiple roles of interfacial water in biological membranes. They will characterise water mobility and ordering inside membrane receptors, carrier proteins and channels, adjacent to their ligands and lipid bilayers, and in the reaction centres of membrane-bound enzymes, using a broad methodological spectrum including cryo-electron microscopy, simulations, light-spectroscopy and imaging. To assess the functional consequences of water confinement, they will analyze facilitated water and solute transport, chemical reactions inside proteins, ligand-protein interactions, the intraprotein H-bond network, and membrane fusion events, exploiting, e.g. electrophysiology and synthetic chemistry. The results will pave the way for the development of personalised, targeted therapies and more effective drugs and vaccines through improved binding and delivery. Biotechnological applications include artificial channels in biomimetic applications.
WATER will bring together world-class theoreticians, experimentalists and computational scientists to provide multidisciplinary training in biophysics, molecular biology, medicinal and organic chemistry, structural and synthetic biology, advanced microscopy and computer science. Besides scientific excellence, WATER offers a cross-sectoral approach, involving industry from start-ups to large pharmaceutical companies, and soft skills training enhancing DC’s abilities to translate scientific discoveries and improve their employability.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN - HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral Networks

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITAT LINZ
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 605 085,84
Address
ALTENBERGER STRASSE 69
4040 Linz
Austria

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Region
Westösterreich Oberösterreich Linz-Wels
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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Participants (11)

Partners (9)

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