# Membrane Protein Stability

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $359,989

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Understanding how proteins fold is a central quest in biology. Studied for over 50
years, investigations of soluble protein folding have proven invaluable for dissecting the
molecular basis of a multitude of diseases. By comparison, folding studies of membrane
proteins (MPs) lag far behind. The knowledge gained from soluble protein studies
cannot simply be transferred to inferences about MPs because their solvents are
different. The balance of forces encoding a MP embedded in a lipid bilayer must be
distinct from that of soluble proteins in water.
 Our research efforts contribute to filling this key gap in the understanding the
physical chemistry of membrane proteins. We will experimentally determine of energetic
forces stabilizing membrane proteins along the steeply changing polarity gradient of the
phospholipid bilayer interface. These efforts will be complemented by molecular
simulations and mathematic systems modeling. In addition, we aim to incorporate novel
techniques to our toolbox to address the energetic importance of backbone hydrogen
bonds in transmembrane proteins.
 Our results have broad ranging impact in the field at large through contributions to
information databases used in training computational algorithms and by their
incorporation in physically realistic mechanisms for protein folding catalysis by cellular
machines.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9841401
- **Project number:** 5R01GM079440-10
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Karen G. Fleming
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $359,989
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-06-01 → 2022-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9841401

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9841401, Membrane Protein Stability (5R01GM079440-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9841401. Licensed CC0.

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