Can Kayatekin Ph‍‍‍.D.

Welcome‍‍‍

My scientific interests are focused on the causes and consequences of protein aggregation. In my graduate work, I examined this problem from the perspective of protein folding biophysics. In my postdoc, I developed several yeast-based models of protein aggregation. Using genetic and biochemical methods, I used these model systems to understand how cells control and react to protein aggregation. Brief descriptions of my work can be found on the research page.

Until recently, I was a postdoc in lab of Susan Lindquist at the Whitehead Institute. Sadly, we lost Susan over a year ago and the lab has now closed. I have now moved to the Melton lab at the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. There I am studying metabolic pathways that influence beta-cell differentiation in vitro and the conditions that lead to the production and presentation of diabetogenic antigens. The goal of this research is to improve the process of creating beta cells in vitro for transplantation into type-I diabetes patients.

A quantitative, multidisciplinary approach to protein (mis)folding

Protein misfolding is a problem of tremendous complexity. At it's core, it is a question of thermodynamics. If mutations or other factors make the undesired states of a protein energetically favorable, then they will be the dominant state. Biophysical methods have the ability to find and describe the desired and undesired states. One might imagine that evolution would have done away with proteins that populate harmful states too frequently. Yet, we still ‍‍‍deal with protein misfolding diseases, so the problem clearly persists. Cells have also evolved sophisticated mechanisms to help proteins fold to their proper form and remove those that failed to do so. By studying protein folding with a combination of complementary methodologies, we can discover the full breadth of relevant factors.

CONNECT WITH ME

protein

biophysics

cell biolo‍‍‍gy

genetics

Looking towards S‍‍‍alt Lake City  from Snowbird. Taken with my iPhone.