# Modeling and dynamics of biomolecules on cellular scales

> **NIH NIH R35** · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $377,367

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Understanding biology and disease requires a full connection from molecular scales, at which the
fundamental biochemistry takes place, to cellular scales, where biological function (or dysfunction) is
realized. Structural and molecular biology have long-focused on the molecular levels whereas systems
biology emphasizes the cellular scale. The key challenge is now how to connect between these scales
to gain a comprehensive understanding of complex diseases and pave the way to rational drug design
at the whole-cell level. Computer simulations play a key role in this effort as they allow the modeling of
biomolecules at different scales and the subsequent study of their dynamics to connect structure with
function. The Feig lab focuses on the development and application of molecular dynamics and multi-
scale methods for the high-resolution modeling of proteins and nucleic acids, the mechanistic analysis of
fundamental biological processes such as transcription and DNA repair, and studies of biomolecules
under crowded cellular environments. Future research focuses on improving protein structure refinement
methods to achieve near-experimental accuracy, either de novo or in combination with high-resolution
cryo EM data, improve the prediction of membrane protein structures, and develop methods for the high-
resolution modeling of chromosomal DNA using experimental restraints from Hi-C data. Mechanistic
studies of transcription by RNA polymerase and DNA mismatch repair initiation by MutS will be expanded
to more realistic biological contexts and studies of crowded cellular environments will be continued to
understand how single molecule dynamics and function is affected by the cellular environment. Finally,
multi-scale methods that can bridge from molecular to cellular scales will be developed and implemented
in community software.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899820
- **Project number:** 5R35GM126948-03
- **Recipient organization:** MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Feig
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $377,367
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899820

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899820, Modeling and dynamics of biomolecules on cellular scales (5R35GM126948-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899820. Licensed CC0.

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