A Molecular-Level Investigation on Aggregation Processes

Interactions between peptides are relevant from a biomedical standpoint.

From cancer treatment to understanding of mechanism leading to important pathologies, as Alzheimer or Parkinson disease, peptides are designed and used every day for a wide variety of applications, both medical or as innovative materials.
However, studying the detailed mechanisms of these interactions by means of conventional, experimental approaches has often proved to be difficult, especially when in presence of several interacting peptides. In this regard, Molecular dynamics (MD) techniques allow for an intricate, molecular-level analysis of the reasons behind such phenomena.
This talk will illustrate some examples of how these powerful tools can help in clarifying the subtler aspects of peptide aggregation processes, integrating or even explaining data obtained through experimental means.

Dr. Paolo Conflitti took his Master Degree in Chemistry at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” (Italy) in 2013, with a thesis focused on the study of protein complexes by meanings of molecular dynamics (MD) techniques. Soon after that, he won the call for bids for a PhD position in Chemistry within the same university. 

He achieved his PhD degree in 2017, with a research based on simulations of several biosystems of medical interest, mostly composed of peptide aggregates, via standard computational approaches (MD, Umbrella Sampling, Replica Exchange MD). Part of his research was carried on abroad, in Barcelona, as visiting PhD student at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (Spain).