Ian Robert Kleckner

My Story:

My research focuses on using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)to characterize the interplay between protein structure, dynamics and function in biologically interesting systems. Below, I describe my goals for studying the trp RNA-binding attenuation protein (TRAP). This protein interacts with the ligand tryptophan, mRNA and the protein Anti-TRAP (AT).

I will explore the presence and molecular mechanism of cooperativity of tryptophan binding. I will utilize state of the art NMR techniques (e.g. TROSY, relaxation dispersion, residual dipolar coupling measurements, special labeling techniques, etc.) to retrieve information about the dynamics and structure of the molecules. Additional structural information on the TRAP-AT complex will be obtained through small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments. These studies will be incorporated with other biophysical methods (e.g. ITC, DSC, stoppedflow fluorescence) to provide a detailed understanding of this biological system.