Alireza Mashaghi
Alireza Mashaghi is a biophysicist and medical scientist at Leiden University and Harvard Medical School.[1][2] He is known for his contributions to single-molecule analysis of chaperone assisted protein folding and medical systems biophysics.
Mashaghi made the first observation of direct chaperone involvement during folding of a protein. This work which has been published in Nature solved a long-standing puzzle in biology.[3] In 2017, Mashaghi reported a new model for chaperone DnaK function and made a discovery that, according to Ans Hekkenberg, "overturns the decades-old textbook model of action for a protein that is central for many processes in living cells".[4] He and his co-workers found that chaperone DnaK can recognise natively folded protein parts and stabilise them. Inspired by single-molecule analysis of biopolymers, Mashaghi and his team developed a new topology framework, termed as circuit topology for studying folding of linear chains.[5] Mashaghi also contributed to others areas in biophysics and biotechnology including membrane sensing [6] and nanoparticle technology.[7][8]
Mashaghi is also active in interdisciplinary research in ophthalmology. In 2017, he and his co-workers at Harvard developed an immunotherapy strategy to improve survival of cornea grafts.[9] The work which gained significant media attention, provides hope for patients with inflamed cornea bed, typically suffering from high graft rejection rates. In 2017, Mashaghi team developed a physics-based approach to explain the mechanism behind corneal graft rejection.[10]
Mashaghi has published more that 65 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals including several papers in Nature and Nature specialty journals. He worked and co-authored with Cees Dekker, Anthony A. Hyman, Reza Dana and Petra Schwille.[11][12][13] He serves on editorial board of several journals including Nano Research, Scientific Reports, Frontiers in Physics, and Medicine.
In 2017, Mashaghi has been named as "Discoverer of the Year" by Leiden University.[14] He is the recipient of several awards including an honorarium from American Chemical Society.
References
- ^ The Mashaghi group, LACDR, Leiden University
- ^ Alireza Mashaghi profile at Harvard University
- ^ A Rubik's cube at the nanoscale: proteins puzzle with amino acid chains
- ^ Universal clamping protein stabilizes folded proteins: New insight into how the chaperone protein Hsp70 works
- ^ Mashaghi A et al. Circuit topology of Proteins and nucleic acids, Structure 22(9):1227-1237 (2014)
- ^ Conformation Activity Relationships: Why Do Molecules Change Shape?
- ^ Esther Amstad et al. Surface Functionalization of Single Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Targeted Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Small 5(11):1334-42 (2009)
- ^ Mashaghi et al. Lipid nanotechnology. Int J Mol Sci. 14(2): 4242–4282 (2013)
- ^ Preventing graft rejection in high-risk corneal transplant patients
- ^ Y Azimzade et al. Immunophysical analysis of corneal neovascularization: mechanistic insights and implications for pharmacotherapy Sci Rep. 22;7(1):12220 (2017)
- ^ Mashaghi A et al. Biophysical Journal 95 (11), p5476–5486 (2008)
- ^ [Mashaghi A. et al. Cornea 36(4):491-496 (2017)
- ^ Nanoscale. Mashaghi A. et al. Nanoscale 21;7(7):3205-16 (2015)
- ^ Our Talents & Discoveries 2017 - Universiteit Leiden